Never Surrender
by HelloImSuperman
Summary: Nick and the survivors were doing fine (as fine as it gets with Nick around), but Ellis finds girl and begs the team to let her stay. When everyone but Nick complies to his request, will he lose it because of this untrusted stranger? Or will he find something about himself he never knew?
1. Chapter 1: Ashley

Coach plopped down on the old couch with a sigh. They made it, but only so far. Only to yet another planted safehouse that wouldn't be safe for long.

"Hey! Y'all comin'?" Rochelle called, leaning on the metal doorframe.

"Yeah, yeah.." Nick grumbled as he trudged along.

He climbed up the steps and into the saferoom.

"Where's Ellis?" Rochelle asked him, expression darkening a bit.

The young man was right behind him only moments ago. Nick opened his mouth to answer but then they heard him.

"Hey! Someone help, we need some help!"

_We?_ That was the thought stuck in all their minds as they ran from the saferoom, following Ellis' voice. When they had him in their sights they were confused to see that he wasn't hurt. On the ground, yes, but he wasn't in any danger. He was kneeling beside something.. someone…

Nick was the first to stop running when he realized what Ellis was fussing about.

"Ellis.." he spoke softly, gripping the shotgun in his right hand. "Get away from her.."

There was a girl lying on the ground. She looked tired, beat up, and had some blood on her clothing, and now Ellis was knelt next to her.

"She's not infected, Nick." Ellis said, somewhat pleading. "She's not, I swear."

Coach was the closest to the pair, and he slowly walked up until he was next to Ellis as well, down on one knee. He looked the girl directly in the eyes.

"Are you infected?"

"No." she shook her head weakly. "I promise."

"Ya see?" Ellis said, looking first at Coach, and then the two standing survivors.

"Are you _immune_?" Coach asked the girl.

"I think so," she said nodding slowly. "I've been bit bad enough once already, attacked a couple other times, but the bite has already heeled."

She struggled to sit up and Ellis lifted her, leaning her against his knees. She slowly reached down to the bottom of her shirt and slid it up. Purple-ish red bite marks stood out distinctly on her hip. They looked like there had once been a would amidst them, but it was now just a scar.

"How long ago was that?" Rochelle asked, nearing the three of them.

The girl thought for a moment. "I would say about a month ago, give or take."

"You see?" Ellis said again. "We gotta help her, y'all."

The girl could walk, barely, so Ellis supported her all he could without carrying her as they made their way to the safehouse. He carefully placed her on the couch and lifted her feet up, placing himself by them.

"Thank you, sweetie." She gave him a tired, but genuine smile.

He smiled back. She shuffled to sit herself up and Coach came over to take a look at her.

"Do you have any other wounds?"

"Just this one," she held out her left arm to reveal a red gash, that wasn't too bad, but it looked like it could be infected soon. "But it was from a tree, not a zombie."

Coach looked her in the eye when she spoke and she did the same. He could tell she wasn't lying to them, not even a little. He grabbed some supplies from a med kit and cleaned and bandaged the wound.

"Thank you, sir." She looked up at him.

"What's your name, Girl?" he asked with a kind tone.

"Ashley. Ashley Haner."

Nick stood in the corner near a table and the door, watching and listening from a distance. He didn't believe her. She was nothing more than a future zombie to her.

"Ashley." Coach repeated with a nod. "Ashley, I'm Coach." He held out his hand, and she shook it with a surprisingly firm grip. She was the real deal.

"I'm Ellis, and, well, I guess y'could call me 'El' if you wanted to, but, I dunno, I always thought that was some kind of girl's name and.."

Rochelle stopped him before he got into something endless. "Name's Rochelle. Nice to meet you." She gave a friendly smile.

No one seemed to pay mind to Nick who just stood there, silently watching.

"Ashley, you gotta understand somethin' here," Coach began, Ashley looking him in the eyes intently. "I ain't sayin' that I don't believe nothin' you just said, but we can't just be as careless as we want out here. We'll let you stay the night, and then we'll see how that and things go in the morning. Sounds good?"

"Sounds great!" Ellis exclaimed with a laugh.

Ashley chuckled at the young man's enthusiasm. "Thank you, you have no idea what this means to me, really."

Just then, they all jumped at the sound of the door shutting. Everyone's heads snapped to the corner and found it empty; Nick was gone.

Rochelle muttered something about him being a prick.. or something that ryhmed with it, grabbed a machete, and walked out to find him. When Coach and Ellis turned back to Ashley, she was looking down at her knees and had a certain look on her face.

"Don't mind him, girl, he's just not takin' this whole fiasco very well." Coach gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before he slowly stood up and walked into one of the bedrooms.

"Here, I'll getcha a blanket and everythin'." Ellis quickly jumped up and scrambled around to find a blanket and something Ashley could use as a pillow.

She chuckled. "Oh, um, did you happen to grab a backpack?"

"Uhh.." Ellis looked around. "Yeah, yeah! This one?" He held up a dirty maroon backpack that he picked up off the table by the door.

"Yeah, that one, thanks!"

Ellis grinned and started towards her, but then stopped, his expression beginning to fall. "Uh.. you mind if I, like, went through it real quick, or somethin'? I mean, I dont think you'd be the type to just kill me or nothin' but everyone else might wanna just be cautious." He now had an apologetic look on his face.

"Not a problem."

He laid the bag on the table and carefully unzipped it, pulling out the contents one by one. A pair of Nike shorts, a black tank top, an empty pill bottle, some sort of thick, weird tape, and a hairbrush.

"Y'ain't got no weapons?" Ellis looked up with a confused expression, leaving this somewhere between a statement and a question.

Ashley shook her head. "I dropped 'em earlier before I fell, and couldn't run anymore."

"Hey, you're not sick, right? I mean, that's not why you couldn't run no more, yeah?"

She shook her head again. "I've been low on food, and I haven't slept, there's been nowhere safe. I just got really weak and my body wouldn't move anymore."

"Oh, well we can fix that!" He smiled again. "Oh, uh, hey Coach!" he yelled down the hall. "Her bag isn't full of no weapons or nothin'!"

Coach laughed a little from the other room. "I wasn't doubtin' her, son!"

"Here y'are." Ellis handed Ashley some slices of bread. "Sorry, s'all we got for now."

"Thank you, so much. Really." She said, and she meant every word.

Just then, they both jumped again as the door flew open. Nick stormed in with a pleading Rochelle behind him.

"Nick, really, you're-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Rochelle!" he snapped, cutting her off. His eyes shot a dark look at Ashley before Coach walked in.

"Son, what the hell are you yellin' about now?"

Nick was silent for a moment, his breathing heavy. Then, he finally spoke.

"I don't trust her."


	2. Chapter 2: You Stupid Witch!

Ashley had slept almost the whole night through. She had some trouble falling asleep at first, but once she did, she didn't wake up once. There was a small amount of sunlight coming in through the barred window of the safehouse door, just enough to light up the room with a dreary, golden tone. She sat up on the couch she had slept on the night before and wiggled out from under the blanket on top of her, before realizing someone had taken off her shoes, and her jacket, which she found both laying on a small end table behind her head. She sat on the couch and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up.

"You talk in your sleep."

She flinched a little at the voice she heard, and she looked up to see the man in the suit standing by the door with the same shotgun he had when she first laid eyes on him last night. He wasn't looking at her, he was staring out the window, but she knew he was talking to her. What she didn't know was his name, or why he seemed to be so upset with her. He was the only one she hadn't been introduced to last night, and the one who had angrily left shortly after Ashley had come in.

"Um.." She began, but he started talking again and cut her off.

"A lot. You were mumbling, so I couldn't understand you, but you seemed upset."

He now turned to face her. His expression wasnt happy, but it wasn't as angry as last night. It actually looked calm, collected. Smooth.

"You know," he said looking down at first, then looking at her with a slight raise of his eyebrows. "That's a sign that you could be infected."

She just stared at him. "I'm not infected, I'm immune."

He shrugged, trying to play it cool as best he could. "Whatever."

The rest of the survivors then came in.

"Mornin', Miss Ashley." Ellis grinned walking over to the couch where Ashley sat.

"Good morning, Ellis." She returned the smile.

"How ya feelin'?" Coach walked over and squatted in front of her.

"Better," she smiled. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate this."

Coach smiled back at her, but it only lasted for a moment before he became serious. "Ashley, we gon' letcha travel with us, but you gotta prove to me y'ain't just gonna rob us blind and leave us."

"Or kill us." Nick added from the door. "Or turn us into zombies."

Rochelle and Coach both shot him a look at he shrugged, but shut up.

"I promise. This is wonderful, all you've done for me, really. I could have died out there. Thank you for this."

Coach smiled at her. "Let's move." He said standing up and heading towards the door.

Ashley, who had put her shoes back on and stuffed her jacket in her backpack, stopped for a moment. "Um.. I dont have any form of defense."

Nick had already made it out of the door, but the rest of the group turned and thought for a moment.

"Here." Ellis said with a smile. "You can use this here Magnum."

This caught Nick's attention. That was his favorite weapon. He had lost his a couple days ago, replacing it with a shotgun, but he had no idea Ellis had one. He turned slowly and watched Ellis place the silver pistol in the girl's hand.

"D'you even know how to use it?"

Everyone turned to Nick, then back to Ashley.

"Oh, honey." She said with a mock sympathetic smirk.

Ellis, Rochelle, and even Coach all grinned at this, and Nick sneered and walked away. "Let's just go already."

The five of them exited the saferoom, stepping out into the daylight. The area looked fairly empty, but they had to stay on their guard. They walked in silence for a while, Coach and Rochelle in the front, Ellis a little behind them but a little ahead of Ashley, and Nick in the back. He had purposely fallen behind because he didn't want his back to this new girl at all, and now, if she tried anything , her back was to him. For the first time he took a moment to take in her features. She was average height, a few inches shorter than Ellis, and maybe a couple taller than Rochelle. She was fairly skinny, with nice features in the back from what he could see. She had brown hair that was pulled up into a messy bun with a few strands of her bangs hanging around her face. She was wearing a black v-neck, a pair of blue jeans, and some black boots that resembled the ones on Ellis' feet, only smaller, and more feminine. Her voice was coated in a Southern accent, not as thick as Ellis' but it definitely intrigued Nick in a way he hated. Eventually he slowly slid up beside her, but not getting too close. Only parallel with her pace, and close enough to look at her more. She didnt seem to notice. This brought more details to Nick's attention, however. She had tan skin, not too tan to be fake, but she definitely had spent time in the sun before. Her eyes were grey-ish green, and now that he could see her from the front, he found she had nice features there, too, and that they weren't fake. Then she suddenly stopped.

"What the-"

"Shh." She cut him off. The others turned around and came in closer. "Listen." She said softly.

They all paused and heard the familiar sound of crying, and moaning.

"It's just a witch, not like we haven't run into one before." Nick rolled his eyes.

But as they continued to walk they came to find that there was no way around it. They had just begun to reach the town from the woods and the streets were now narrow, filled with empty cars. There really was no way around the witch. Had they tried to walk past it, they'd upset her for sure. If they tried to climb over the empty cars, there was still a chance she would be upset, and / or the noise would bother her.

_Aw, crap._ Nick thought. They all stood for a moment in silence, watching the distant witch as she sat on the ground, sobbing, about what, they might never know. After a while, Ashley spoke.

"Does anyone have a shotgun?"

"Yeah." Nick said holding his gun up in his right hand.

"If you carefully, but quickly walk up to her.. you can put a bullet straight through her head, and you can take her out without disturbing anything. It's the only way."

"Are you freaking _insane_?" Nick said, trying to keep his voice down. "I'm not going anywhere near that thing." He waved his gun in the direction of the witch.

"No, really. It works."Ashley nodded.

"Fine." He said sternly. "_You_ do it." He pushed the gun towards Ashley.

She slowly took it and turned towards the witch. No one said anything, or tried to stop her. They were all silent. As she neared the crying infected, Nick crossed his arms over his chest. _It's going to kill her._ He thought, but for some reason, this thought didn't give him the satisfaction he thought he'd get if she was gone. Instead it made him want to call her back, to tell her to stop. But he did nothing. They all remained silent. Ellis had an extremely worried look on his face as she got within arm's reach of the witch who was now getting angry. She slowly lifted the gun to its head and with her eyes squeezed shut, she pulled the trigger. Everyone's eyes had shut at the sound of the shot, followed by a loud cry from the witch. But when they opened them, the witch was dead; crumpled body laying on the ground at Ashley's feet. She turned and smiled at Nick before tossing him the shotgun.

"Holy shoot!" Ellis exclaimed, running up to Ashley. "That was UH-MAY-ZING!"

She just laughed.

"You got serious balls, girl." Rochelle slapped her on the back.

Coach simply nodded in approval, and Nick stood there, completely dumbfounded, with a guilty twitch poking its way into his stomach.

Ellis turned to the man. "Ya comin'?


	3. Chapter 3: Why do you hate me, Suit?

"So where are you from, Ashley?"

The group was walking through the trashed and abandoned city, as they had been for at least an hour now. It had been silent, so Rochelle thought she would make some conversation.

"I'm from Texas."

"I knew it!" Ellis exclaimed. "I'm from Texas, too. But lotsa people say they could already tell." He chuckled a bit, and then grinned. Ashley just laughed, smiling at the young man.

"What brought you out 'round Savannah?" Coach asked, carrying on the original conversation.

"Funny story, acutally."

Nick rolled his eyes as Ashley started.

"My friend was planning on taking a trip with her boyfriend. It was planned about two months before any of this started." They all knew she was referring to the infection and continued walking as they listened. "A week before the trip, they had a huge fight and broke up."

_Of course. _Nick thought to himself.

"She was devastated, and I tried to convince her to take the trip anyway. In my success, she dragged me here with her."

"Well, what's wrong with Savannah?" Rochelle asked, almost sounding defensive.

"Oh, no, no, nothing is wrong with Savannah." Ashley soon realized how that had sounded. "I just wasn't really up for a trip, ya know? But from the couple of days we got to do some sightseeing and whatnot, Savannah is pretty awesome."

"Hell yeah it is!" Ellis piped in, and the four others realized how far in front he was. "Hey, guys, I know it's only early evenin' but I think I found our spot for the night." He gestured to an old brick building with stairs on the side that let up to a boarded-up door. Below the stairs was the familiar metal door with the very sketchy-looking, spray -painted house on it. They all walked inside together. Once in, door shut, Coach proposed an idea.

"How's about two of us go look around for supplies in these streets, hm? Hasn't been very full of zombies lately, and it's not even nightfall yet."

It was true, other than the witch they had encountered, and Ashley bravely executed, there was only an infected or two here and there. Most of them were leaned against the wall with their backs to the survivors so they were all easily killed with a machete or a crowbar, and no guns were needed.

"Sure, I'll go!" Ellis happily volunteered.

"Alright, who will go with Ellis?"

Rochelle let out a groan of exhaustion and Nick had already wandered off into the only other room in the building.

"Um, I'll go if that's okay." Ashley said softly. "I mean, no one else seems to want to.."

"That would be fine."

"YAY!" Ellis exclaimed, grabbing Ashley, who barely had time to grab her pistol off the table, by the wrist and running out the door with her.

They found themselves on the other side of the saferoom, in the streets of the city of Rayford. There were abandoned buildings like a nightclub, a billiards bar, and even a tattoo parlor that was missing its door.

"Hey, Ashley, you want yourself a custom tattoo by yours truly?" Ellis laughed as they walked inside the small parlor.

She laughed back. "I'm good, Ellis, thanks."

"Oh, hey!" he suddenly remembered. "It makes me think of this one time, me and this buddy o' mine, his name's Keith, we was so bored one day and so we tried to make our own tattoo gun and-"

"Ellis!" She quickly cut him off in a harsh whisper.

The close sound of a hunter's warning call was nearby.

"I got this." Ellis pulled out two pistols and slowly neared the doorway of the parlor.

"Ellis..." Ashley pulled out her own magnum, worried.

Then the hunter spotted them from across the street. It pounced, and Ellis was able to push it back, but he still fell to the ground, and attempted to shoot from there, but the hunter's head seemed to be moving much too quickly.

"Get it, get it!" he yelled as it became airborne once again.

Ashley quickly began firing her magnum but had no luck hitting the infected's head. She shoved it back with her foot and once more, Ellis fired from the ground, this time hitting it directly in the forehead. It let out a small yelp, as a dog would, and crumpled to the cobblestone ground.

Ashley and Ellis let out a sigh of relief in unison, and Ellis pulled himself up from the ground.

They encountered no more infected that night, but they didnt go any further than in and out of the bar. They found multiple bottles of pills (which seemed to deplete quickly for whatever reason), two sterilized adrenaline shots, a molotov cocktail (which excited Ellis very much), and some ammo for various weapons. They returned to the saferoom and went to show the other survivors their findings; however, Coach had already fallen asleep in one of the only two twin-sized beds, and Rochelle was in the process of doing so on the other one. So it was just Nick. He was quiet, at first he didn't comment on Ashley supposedly being infected, or shoot some mean remark at Ellis; he just let them in with a tired look on his face. Of course, as soon as Ellis showed him the molotov, Nick told him that Ellis would burn them all to a crisp if he kept hold of it, but Ellis didn't seem to care. He just trotted off to the other room to retrieve any bag he could find to put the items in, and ended up making a bed on the floor between Coach and Rochelle, and he fell asleep.

It was just Ashley and Nick. Alone.

Nick sat on the only other object to sleep on; a small red couch that wasn't in that bad of shape. His elbows were on his knees, his face buried in his hands. Ashley sat on a small wooden stool on the opposite wall from him. She wanted to ask if he was alright but she knew how much he didn't like her.. Finally, she gave in and broke the silence.

"Hey, suit. You okay?"

He looked up at her ever so slowly, an unamused expression on his face.

"Excuse me? I have a name."

"Well, yeah, I never got introduced to you.. so I didn't know it." She shrugged. "I know you don't like me, I was just asking if you were alright." And with that, she stood up and went to the door, staring out the window at what was now nightfall.

Nick sighed. "I'm fine. Just tired, is all."

Ashley didn't respond and for about a minute, it was silent.

"Why do you hate me?"

This caught Nick's attention immediately. "What?"

"Why do you hate me?" She repeated.

"Who told you I hated you?"

She gave him a 'Are You Serious Nick, I'm Not an Idiot' look. "Don't lie, suit. It's obvious you do. I mean, I can tell you arent really fond of the others, but it's like you've got some personal vendetta out for me, and I don't even know you."

"Stop calling me 'Suit'." He snapped. "My name is Nico-.. Nick."

"Nick."

"Yes. Nick."

"So, why do you hate me, Nick?"

"I never said I hated you." He was trying as best he could to avoid answering her question. "I'm going to bed now. Wake someone else up when you want your shift to end." And he left her with that.

Ashley sat down on the tall stool that she had now quietly moved next to the door and kept her loaded magnum in her left hand. She wasn't tired, she'd have no need to wake anyone up. She was confused, and honestly, a little hurt. She turned her eyes to Nick's sleeping (and now snoring) figure.

He was tall. Not the tallest, but tall. Taller than Rochelle, taller than her, taller than Ellis, only to be surpassed by Coach. He wore a white suit with a blue button-down shirt underneath. His coat and shoes now lay neatly on the floor next to the couch he slept on. He slept on his back, one hand loosely run through his dark brown hair. He didn't look too built, like the way she imagined Ellis was, but he had muscle. She liked the way his expression softened a bit in his sleep, but she was curious as to why he still looked so upset.

_Maybe that's just how he is.._ she thought with a sigh, and then she turned herself back to the door to look at the streets that felt as empty as the room.

Even with Nick's snoring.


	4. Chapter 4: The Bridge

Nick woke up the next morning in a daze; his last dream was not only confusing but actually painful. He tried to shake it off and he knew he'd soon forget. As he sat up he noticed Coach and Rochelle standing by the door.. laughing?

"What's so funny?"

"You!" Rochelle laughed a little harder now, causing Nick to glare.

"You was talkin' in ya sleep, son." Coach chuckled. "Somethin' about Caroline?" He laughed again.

Rochelle attempted to stop laughing long enough to speak. "Oh, Caroline, please, baby, it's not what you think.." she imitated the voice of someone sounding quite desperate, and Nick knew she was mocking what he had said in his dream. "I.. I don't even love her! I promise, baby!" Coach just laughed at this even more.

Nick's glare grew darker as he stared at her.

"Ya know.." she spoke more calmly now, but there was still amusement in her voice. "I heard someone else's name in there, too..." Her eyes looked away and she chuckled a bit as she trailed off.

"Who?"

It looked like at least one, if not both of them were going to answer him but they quickly shut their mouths. Nick was about to yell in protest and then he saw Ashley come walking in from the other room, stretching, followed by a shirtless Ellis.

"Good morning." She said with a small smile, making sure her eyes met each of the three standing around the room.

Nick noticed she was not wearing the same black v-neck and jeans that she had on when he passed out the night before. She had on black running shorts and a loose black tank top, and no shoes.

"Mornin'." Coach nodded at the pair. "Didn't think y'all would be up till later, 'so dark we still can't even leave."

"I just couldn't sleep." Ashley shrugged as she absentmindedly sat down on the arm of the couch, not paying mind to Nick anymore.

"Well, I'm glad you at least got a little, babygirl. You needed it."

Ashley smiled at him. Then all eyes turned to the youngest of the group.

Ellis was still standing in the doorway, shirtless, eyes tired, and he was staring at the same spot on the wall that he had been when he walked in.

"Ellis?" Rochelle slowly neared him. "Hey, Ellis." She gave him a light tap on the shoulder.

"Hm?" His head snapped up, and his eyes widened a bit.

"Ellis, I told you to go back to bed, I knew you were still tired." Ashley gave him a half sympathetic look.

"I know, I know.." he said nodding slowly. "I guess I should do that then, huh." And he slowly walked back to the bedroom where everyone else chuckled when they heard him flop down on the small, old bed.

"Strange one, that boy.." Coach said shaking his head.

"Dig the PJs! I'm jealous." Rochelle said gesturing to Ashley's newfound attire.

She laughed. "I've got another set, you can wear them tomorrow night."

Rochelle mouthed 'Yes!' as she pulled her fist through the air, and Ashley laughed again.

"So.." Coach, who had silently moved to a table where he set his water bottle down, began to say.

All eyes turned to look at him.

"I think I seen this bridge. I'm quite positive that's where that car ended up."

Ashley was confused, Nick didn't care too much about the car, he just cared about getting out.

"Don't tell Ellis that." Rochelle joked.

"But I think I also saw people on it." Coached finished.

They all stopped.

"People?" Nick raised his eyebrows. "Or infected?"

"People."

Nick's eyebrows went up farther but he didn't say anything.

"Do you think these people saw you?" Rochelle asked.

"Nah. I didn't get that close. I just spotted this bridge from a distance and I noticed some figures on it. As I watched em, they didn't limp around or anything. They moved fast, quick; like humans. They weren't goin' nowhere, but they were makin' hand gestures and stuff. Like they was arguin' or somethin'."

"How many?" Nick asked flatly.

"I'd like to say two but I may have seen one sittin' down. I don't know if this third character is still living or not, or if I'm just seein' things in my old age."

Nick nodded.

"But definitely two."

Rochelle had turned to look out the window. The sun was now up, not very high, but at the peak of sunrise. "So, think we should head out?"

Coach nodded. "Ashley, would you mind grabbin' the youngin'?"

"Sure."

Moments later Ellis appeared again, this time wearing a shirt, and not as tired-looking.

As everyone was grabbing items and weapons and preparing for their journey, Coach leaned over to Ashley and whispered, "You can ask Ellis about the car if you're confused."

Ashley found it strange that he would tell her to specifically ask Ellis, but upon doing so, she found why.

"Man, that car is my life! I can't believe in the middle of this whole zombie apocalypse-ness _I DROVE JIMMY GIBBS JR'S CAR._" Ashley laughed at his annunciation of the last six words.

"Anyway, so we's in this mall and we're try'na think 'How the hell we gonna get out?' and so Nick's all like," he put on his best impression of Nick. "'CEDA ain't comin', what do we do?'" While everyone else laughed at this, Nick rolled his eyes.

"So then, I got this idea. I knew Jimmy's stock car was somewhere in the mall, and I'd seen some cans of gas earlier, and I thought 'Hey! Maybe we can gas up his car enough to get us away from here!' and no one else had no ideas so we just went with mine." He paused for a moment, grinning. "Oh, yeah, and then we made it to this highway in front of a motel, but it was blocked off by all these wrecked and empty cars, so we had to leave Jimmy there.. Oh but then, we made it to this hotel and we found some good stuff and we went down this hill and then back up this hill," Ashley and Rochelle were laughing at his enthusiasm. "and we found WHISPERING OAKS AMUSEMENT PARK!" His face looked like he had just now found it again, only for the first time. Before Ashley could speak, he continued.

"So then, we had to do all this cool stuff like, run away from infected in a merry-go-round, cut through barns and run over roofs, OH, and we got to run from the zombies on the Screamin' Oak roller coaster! My gosh, it was amazin'.." he trailed off as he thought about it.

"Not to mention the concert." Coach nodded towards the boy.

"Oh, yeah! And we signaled a helicopter with the stuff that the Midnight Riders was usin' for their concert! Man, Ashley, you shoulda been there.. 'Course.. Nick shot the pilot later, but that was only 'cause he was savin' us 'cause the pilot was infected and all, and he was turnin' into a zombie."

At hearing Nick's name everyone turned to look for him, and saw him nowhere.

"Nicolas!" Coach called.

No answer.

Then moments later, "Hey, guys, I found the bridge.." he called from not too far ahead, but something in his voice suggested a problem.

As they reached him, they saw that there were indeed people on the bridge. Nick had stopped at a distance so that they wouldn't be spotted, and they were now watching as the confused survivors above them, turned and looked for where the voice had come from.

"What d'we do?" Ellis turned to the group, who all turned to Coach.

"We go up and say 'hello'."


	5. Chapter 5: What's Your Story?

The group camped out the night in a safe room not too far from the bridge. It was small, and for a safehouse it looked pretty sketchy. They'd all be sleeping on the floor tonight, and someone would absolutely have to be on watch at all times, but it was better than out in the open. However, no one seemed to be tired just yet.

They all sat on the floor; Ashley and Ellis cross-legged, Nick leaned up against a wall, and Rochelle had her chin resting on one of her knees. Coach had found a small seat of what used to be a wooden chair, and after sticking some boards beneath its broken legs, it was leveled out and he now sat on it.

"So, what're we gonna do 'bout those people on the bridge? They might try to shoot us.." Ellis said with a small shrug.

Coach was, of course, the one to give answers.

"This could be true, we don't know these people, but I don't think they would just shoot us on the spot seeing that we _aren't_ infected, we _are_ immune, and we can't get to them right now anyhow."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, I say that when it's light enough outside, we move out. We go talk to them, and get some information on how we can go about gettin' that car back."

"I'm comin' for you, baby!" Ellis called to the saferoom door.

"Anyway, we only got about 5 hours till sunrise starts, and I'd like to move out early. I suggest y'all start gettin' to sleep."

Nick and Ellis certainly didn't have to be told twice. Nick had his shoes off and his coat was being folded nicely, and placed at the end of his makeshift bed. Ellis always slept with his shoes on, no one knew why, but the only thing he removed when he slept was his shirt. It was true, he wasn't hard to look at, but Ashley and Rochelle had no romantic interests in the young man. Ashley volunteered to take the first shift because Coach had taken the last one, and Rochelle said she was going to team up with Ashley because she wasnt tired.

Once all the boys had fallen asleep, Ashley pulled out the shorts and tank top she had worn the night before, and handed the bag to Rochelle to offer her the other set. They changed quickly, hoping that none of the sleeping men were peeking through squinted eyes, and then sat on a shelf that had been halved and then set on the ground, making the perfect bench.

"So, what do you think, you're still gonna stick around? Even after you've seen all of us as we are?"

Ashley laughed. "Yeah, yeah.. I'm gonna stay."

"Good, I HATED being the only girl."

Ashley laughed again. "Glad I could help."

They turned to the sleeping (and, of course, snoring) survivors, and simply watched for a moment.

Then Ashley turned to Rochelle. "What's Nick's story?"

Rochelle paused for a moment. "Hm?"

"Like, in the past couple days," (it had been about a week since Ashley 'arrived' and she had already become close to the group as they had to her) "I've heard about how Ellis is a mechanic, you worked for a news station, and Coach, well, he was a coach. But what about Nick?"

"Oh. Right." Rochelle thought for a moment, and then her voice lowered. "He hasn't told Ellis or I anything about him, really, but he has told Coach some stuff, and Coach has mentioned just a little.

They both turned to make sure everyone was still asleep.

"He was a gambler, and a conman. He spent alot of time in Vegas, but I think he was born in Boston. Coach also said one of the rings on his fingers is a gang ring. Like, mobsters, I guess."

Ashley, who had been listening, continued to stare at the man in the blue shirt.

_Maybe is past really is why he's so angry. _She thought.

"What about you?" Rochelle said after a moment. "You only told us you were from Texas, and that you came here with a friend, but what else?"

Ashley's eyes stayed on Nick's sleeping figure for a moment longer and then Ellis' voice snapped her head away.

"Yeah! I wanna know more about you, Ashley!" he said in a very enthusiastic whisper. He had woken up and was now sitting on the floor at the girls' feet, Ashley just hadn't seen him come over.

"Well," she began, and then she laughed. "Okay. So, yeah. I'm from Texas. It hardly ever rains, people set things on fire every day, and yes, some people do ride their horses on the streets." Ellis laughed at this because he knew it was true.

In the meantime, Coach had joined them, leaning against the wall behind Ellis.

"I had a job working at a clothing store in the mall, wasn't too great, but right before I left for Savannah, I had gotten a certain call."

Nick didn't move, but he was awake, and he listened silently from his pile of blankets on the floor. He wouldn't admit it, but he wanted to know about Ashley as well.

"I'd been taking pictures pretty much my whole life. I was the kid that ran around with a disposable camera telling people to smile and snapping my little plastic lens in their faces. Of course, I got better when I got older, and got a better camera, and I realized all I wanted to do was be a photographer. So, the call that I got right before I left was someone saying they were interested in some work of mine a friend had sent in, without me knowing of course, and they wanted to talk to me more. So I sent in a few more shots and they told me to come in and see them when I could and they would talk about careers with me. Of course, then I left on this trip to Georgia, and then," she made a wide gesture with her hands. "all this happened. So yeah. I don't know if this apocalypse has ruined my only shot at a career or not."

They were all silent for a moment.

"Y'know what, Ashley? I betcha when we make it out of this mess, you're gonna be the bestest photographer there ever was."

She smiled. "Thank you, Ellis."

_'When we get out of this mess'._ The words lingered in Ashley's mind. He had said 'when', not 'if', 'when'. As if he was positive that they would escape. As if he was so sure that things would go back to normal, that he would see Keith again, and that Ashley would get a job being a photographer. When.

The same words stuck in Nick's head, too, and he almost said something about how Ellis was crazy and they would never make it out, but not only was he supposed to be asleep, he wanted to believe that Ellis' optimism was factual. That they _would_ make it out.

Sunrise had begun

"Ay, Nick, get up, we gotta go meet the people on the bridge!" Ellis shook the 'sleeping' man. He could get excited about literally anything.

"I'm up, geez, get off me, Overalls!" Nick pushed at Ellis, rolling over. Ashley and Rochelle ran around to the backside of the building to change, and when they came inside, they reported that the area looked clear, and then put their clothes back in Ashley's backpack. Nick slid his not-so-white suit coat back on and grabbed his freshly-loaded shotgun.

"To the bridge!" Rochelle said, half sarcastically, with some real entusiasm.

"To my baby!" Ellis said, with no sarcasm at all, much enthusiasm.

"Oh, boy.." Nick said, with much sarcasm, and no enthusiasm whatsoever.

And with that, they headed to the bridge.


	6. Chapter 6: New Friends

*Note: Characters in this chapter have switched but the story is the same, read to find out.

"I swear, I heard talking."

"I believe you, Zoey."

"Thanks, Louis."

Francis just lay against the metal railing, snoring softly.

"Hey, excuse me, anyone up there?"

Zoey and Louis were both startled by this, and she jumped up and grabbed the rifle laying next to her. Looking down, she spotted two people; a man in a white suit, and a girl in a black shirt and jeans.

"Uh, hi, can I help you?" In the meantime, Louis had woken up Francis who was slowly standing up to see what was going on.

"Yeah, uh, hey, Sweetheart. Is there a man up there we could talk to? We need to get the bridge lowered."

"Oh, go to hell, Suit." She walked away from the railing until she was no longer in his sights.

Francis leaned over the railing, and with one look at the suit, he instantly had a dislike for this man.

"I hate suits.." he grumbled. "Get outta here, Colonel Sanders!" he yelled before walking away to join Zoey.

They heard arguing and then moments later, a girl's voice sounded.

"Um, excuse me, I'm sorry about him, uh, could you help us?"

Zoey reappeared over the railing and sure enough, the girl in the black shirt was now talking. The man in the suit was standing a ways back, arms crossed, not looking up at Zoey anymore.

"Might wanna rethink your boyfriend, there."

"Oh, honey." The girl below her laughed. "He's not my boyfriend, not even a little."

Zoey laughed, too. She was starting to like this girl but she didn't trust strangers. "What can we help you with?"

"Well, theres a car a ways back on the bridge below you, I'm sure you noticed it. That's our car, and we kinda need to get to it, soo.. you think you could lower that bridge for us?"

Zoey had, in fact, noticed the blue racecar. She didn't know how or when it got there; she simply awoke one morning to see it there, with no drivers. "Well, we could, but the generator that powers it is out. It's down over here, and we'd go start it for you, but in the process of doing that the first time, we lost a guy.. and one up here is injured."

"I'm very sorry for your loss." The girl said, and she meant it, she was. "Could you direct us to said generator so we can fill it up?"

Zoey nodded. "Sure thing, you just have to go through the city. There's a bar, head around that, and.. you _might_ be able to still get here if you go straight. It could be blocked by now, and if it is, I'm sorry. But if not, see you when you get here."

"Thanks, thanks much!" The girl called with a wave which Zoey returned.

"So, they just wanted to get to their car?" Francis raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Looks like they're just passing through."

Francis shrugged.

"Hey, are we gonna help them? How many are there?" Louis asked.

"I only saw two. A man in a white suit and a girl who looked not too much younger. I don't know if there's more but if there is, prepare yourself."

"Are we gonna kill 'em?" Francis laughed.

"No," Zoey said simply. "But they might try to kill us."

Francis stopped laughing and Louis' eyes widened.

"Anyhow, we'll wait and see how long it takes them to get here. _If_ they get here."

And sure enough, they did. It took them the rest of the day, but they made it.

And there was more of them.

The Suit and the girl showed up first, and then three more appeared; a larger, dark-skinned man, a thin woman, who was also dark-skinned, and a young man who had coveralls tied around his waist, and a tow-truck cap on his head. He seemed to just stare at Zoey. A lot.

As the group neared, Zoey took a closer look at the girl. She looked familiar. _Really_ familiar, now that she could see her better.

Then it hit her.

"Ashley?!" Zoey jumped up.

The girl's head quickly snapped to Zoey.

"ZOEY!" Ashley ran towards her and Zoey had jumped the railing to get to Ashley as well.

The two embraced for a long while until Francis walked up and cleared his throat.

"Don't think I forgot about you, Francis." Ashley grinned as she pulled away from Zoey and then hugged Francis tight, which disgusted Nick.

"Oh, right." Zoey said turning to the group. "I'm Zoey, and this is Francis, and back there is Louis."

"Hello!" Louis waved.

"Ashley, Francis, and I were on a team, I suppose you could say, but Ashley and Francis ended up getting separated, which, we found Francis, but yeah.." she trailed off.

Then Ashley took her turn to introduce her group.

"This is Ellis," the boy with the coveralls just stared at Zoey.

"This is Rochelle," the dark-skinned woman, who Francis seemed to have his eyes locked on now, said 'Hello' and shook Zoey's hand.

"This is Coach," the large man nodded from the back of the group.

"And, well, you already met Suit." Rochelle tried to stifle a laugh and the Suit just glared at her.

"Name's Nick, sweetheart." He nodded at Zoey, who just stared back in some disgust.

Ashley paused for a moment. "Zoey.. where's Bill?" she asked quietly.

Zoey's eyes went cold. She lead Ashley down to where the generator was, and pulled her into a small room of the building. There lay Bill, still in his Army greens, gun laid loosely across his lap, his finger still on the trigger, but it was apparent the machine gun was out of ammo.

Not that it mattered.

Ashley couldn't breathe, and her mouth wouldn't open to speak the words her brain could barely form.

"The generator cut off about halfway up.. Bill went down to restart it and.."

Zoey's words trailed off as Ashley stared at the blood-covered man.

The group behind her just stood in silence and watched as she lifted his cap and placed it back on his head.

"There." She said softly. "We miss you, Bill."

Everyone went back up to the bridge, ready to crash for the night.

"There's some apartment building over there, they're connected with some kind of bridge, if you guys wanted to use one, we planned on doin' the same." Rochelle told the new group of survivors.

"Thanks, that sounds great."

The two groups made their way to the apartments; the buildings below had been torn up and boarded shut, but the two top living spaces of each were safe, and they were easy to get to from the previous location on the bridge. Ashley's group took one side and Zoey's, the other.

"Oh my GOSH!"

Rochelle had gone inside with Ellis and she had already made her way to one of the back rooms.

"ASHLEY!" her voice came again.

Ashley jogged into the building and searched for Rochelle. She found her in none other than a bathroom.

"THEY HAVE A WORKING SHOWER!" Rochelle squealed. "Plus, there's a shower_ AND _a tub!"

Ashley all but screamed. Then they heard the same exclamations coming from the apartment across the way and laughed.

The rest of the survivors made their way in and shut the door, then went to see what the fuss was all about.

That night, each apartment had its own shower schedule. It was the best thing that had happened to them since their journey, and that night, everyone got sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Never Surrender

Nick sat on the floor against the wall, watching Ellis. He was in another world; he methodically cleaned each gun with some cloths he had found and was reloading them all. It was like his life depended on this one job. They were the only two in the apartment, besides Ashley, who was in the shower. Everyone else had showered, except Nick. He was supposed to go in after Ashley. The other survivors were all outside talking with one another, Ellis sitting at the table by the door, Nick across the room. Finally, he stood up and began to walk down the hallway to look around in the bedrooms. As he passed the bathroom, in which Ashley was showering, he heard talking.

_Was she talking to herself? Was someone else in there with her?_ Nick paused a moment and moved closer to the door.

She wasn't talking, she was singing. He looked around; everyone else was occupied outside and Ellis was in his gun-cleaning zone. He leaned closer to the door to listen. He didn't recognize the song, but he listened to the words she sang anyway;

**Do you know what it's like when you're not who you wanna be? Do you know what it's like to be your own worst enemy; who sees the things in me I can't hide Do you know what it's like to want to surrender? I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow, I dont wanna live like this today Make me feel better, I wanna feel better. Stay with me here now, and never surrender**

He was so hit by those words, for a reason he couldn't explain at the moment, and then he heard the shower cut off. Ashley was still humming the rest of the song to herself and he knew that she would be coming out soon, so he moved away from the door, heading towards the spot he was sitting in earlier.

Ellis was now gone, he had gone to be with the others, and of course, make another attempt at talking to Zoey, who he seemed to be infatuated with.

"Nick, you can have the bathroom!"

This call made Nick jump a bit. "Thanks."

As he made his way to the bathroom, Ashley was coming down the hall.

"Hey, um, can you toss your clothes out in the hall?"

"What?" his eyes widened a bit as he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, so I can wash 'em. I didn't wanna have to come in while you were showering.."

"Oh, right." He nodded. "I will."

"Thanks. Oh, hey, there's unopened razors in the top of the cabinet."

He stopped. "Are you suggesting something?" His eyebrows raised again, and his voice had picked up a bit of a playful tone.

Ashley moved towards him, their chests only inches apart. "Not a suggestion.. sweetheart." She winked, and then walked away, leaving Nick standing alone in the hallway, confused as to what just happened.

_Was that a move?_ He thought as he entered the bathroom.

He placed his folded clothes into the hall as he was told, wondering what the heck he was supposed to do when he got out. As he walked back into the bathroom he passed the mirror and stopped to look at his reflection.

"Guess it really wasn't a suggestion, huh." He told the scraggly-looking man in the mirror.

When he got out and shaved, he found his clothes folded in the hall where he left them, only this time, they were much cleaner. Towel around his waist, he slipped into an empty bedroom to dress.

"Where's my coat?" He asked as he rolled up the sleeves of his blue shirt.

Ellis and Rochelle both shrugged, but then he saw Ashley outside with a bucket of soapy water and some white fabric.

"Um, hey." He said leaning up on the railing. "Whatcha doin'?

"Oh, hi." She looked up at him, their eyes meeting for a moment. "Oh, um, I'm washing your coat. I know it's dry clean only, and obviously we don't have that out here, but I wanted to keep it in as best condition possible, so, I'm just kinda takin' my time and stuff.. ya know."

"You don't have to do that." He said softly.

She slowed for a moment, and then kept washing.

"I mean, I really appreciate it, I do, but... it's just a suit." He couldn't believe he had just said that. That was one of his _favorite_ suits.

"I know.. but.. I want to. Don't worry about." She looked up at him and gave a small smile. He couldn't help but return it.

"Hey, Ash!" Their moment was broken by a gravelly voice calling to her.

They both turned to see Francis walking up, and Nick made a face.

" You takin' the first shift tonight?" Francis asked her.

"Yeah," she laughed. "Are you teamin' up with me?"

"Hell yeah!" He threw a fist towards her and she slammed hers back into it.

He leaned against the railing, both of them laughing.

Nick looked up at the dark skies. "I think I'm gonna head to bed now."

"Okay." Was all Francis said; he just stared at Nick. Not in an angry way, but he just watched him.

Nick turned and walked away and then he heard, "Goodnight, Nick."

He paused for a moment. "Night, Ashley." And he left her on the walkway between the two apartments with Francis and her bucket of laundry water.

Out of respect for the ladies, he slept in a room with Ellis that night; Ashley would end up with Rochelle, and Coach got his own bedroom.

"Goodnight, Nick." The thick-coated Southern drawl mumbled from the other bed.

"Night, Ellis." He said back, nodding into the empty space between the beds.

A few minutes passed in silence, and then Nick's thoughts got the best of him. "Hey, Ellis? Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I can't sleep." The young man rolled over to face Nick.

"Me neither." Nick stared at the ceiling. "Ellis, can I tell you something?"

"'Course, Nick." He continued to stare at the man lying on his back.

Nick was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Ellis." The words barely escaped Nick's lips.

Ellis thought for a moment. "Well.. whatcha bein' sorry for?"

"Oh, you know, Ellis." He said sitting up to face him. "All the things I've ever said to you, all the times I've ever been mean to you.. I never meant it. Even when I said I hated you." The last part came out softer than the rest.

Now it was Ellis that had fallen silent.

"Well.. gee, Nick, I.. that really.. it means a lot to me. I mean, I never really took those things too hard 'cause I know I'm annoyin' to you and I know that you're been havin' a hard time, I mean, hell, we're in a zombie apocalypse!" he laughed. This made Nick chuckle a bit.

Then they were both quiet until Ellis softly said, "Thank you, Nick."

Nick wasn't sure what to say. "No problem, Overalls." Ellis laughed a little. "Hey, I'm gonna step outside for a bit."

"Alrighty." Ellis laid back down.

When Nick stepped outside, Ashley was gone, as was Francis. It was just Coach, standing alone.

"Whatcha need, son?"

"Can I tell you something, Coach?" And his apologies began again. But this time it wasn't just to Coach. Nick told him about how he wanted to apologize to everyone, but he didn't have the guts to say anything, but it was eating him up inside.

"I appreciate that, son. I'm sure they all would."

"Yeah.." Nick looked out at the emptiness below.

"I'll leave you to yourself to think." Coach patted him on the back and walked back into the apartment.

**Do you know what it's like to be your own worst enemy?**

The words would stick in Nick's head forever.


	8. Chapter 8: Generation of the Generator

As Zoey and Francis stepped out of their apartment safehouse, they noticed someone slumped up against the wall by the door of the other.

"Is he dead?" Francis asked.

Nick let out a snore, answering Francis' question.

"Holy cow.. I wonder how he managed to stay out here for so long, undisturbed." Zoey stared at the sleeping man. "Hey, Nick, wake up." She nudged his leg with her foot.

No movement.

"Whatever." They knocked lightly on the door, opened it, and went in.

"I got him." Ashley said, coming out moments later to wake up a sleeping Nick, followed by Rochelle.

She bent down to her knees and got next to his ear.

"Nick.." she said softly. "Oh, Nick.. last night was so great.."

Nick's eyes popped open and he shot up. "Wha-, huh?"

The girls burst into near hysterical laughter.

"I think I'm crying!" Rochelle exclaimed as they went back inside, still laughing.

Nick growled and then walked in, slamming the door behind him.

"Ooh.." Rochelle finally stopped laughing. "But really, Nick, that was really sweet of you."

His eyebrows lowered in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Your apologies. Coach told us this morning, that was really sweet." She patted him on the shoulder before walking away. Ashley just watched him from across the room.

_He told them?_ Nick all but ran down the hallway to find Coach.

"Calm down, Nicolas. I wasn't hurtin' nobody."

"But.. but you didn't tell me you were going to say anything!"

He had found Coach in his room putting on his shoes. Everyone else had gone outside.

"I know. But I did it because you said you couldn't do it yourself, and what you said needed be hear, son." He couldn't break eye contact with Coach as he spoke. "No reason to be upset, now."

Nick fell silent, and then he nodded. "Thanks, Coach."

The two of them walked out.

"Soo.." Zoey began upon catching sight of Coach. "The generator needs to be fueled."

"Yes, ma'am. An' we don't plan on makin' y'all follow us down."

"But, guys, I can walk now! We should help them." Louis said, first gesturing to his wounded leg, and then to the five fellow survivors.

"Nahh, nah. You all stay up here."

Nick, Ashley, Ellis, Rochelle, and Coach all made it down to wear the generator was.

"Now, this is gonna be loud once we get it goin'."

"How to you propose we do that?" Nick asked.

"Zoey told me they found gas cans in some of these buildings. That's what they used, there should be enough." Ashley said.

Nick nodded. "Works for me."

"Let's do this." Coach said firmly.

"Hey, guys! We'll cover you from up here!" Zoey called from a building connected to the bridge. Francis was on the other side of the platform she stood on, and Louis by the bridge itself.

"Thanks!" Coach called back as the group split up.

"Hey, I got one in!" Ellis yelled before attempting to start the generator.

It sputtered and spat and then rumbled to life rather loudly. The hordes would show up any minute.

"Aw, hell.." Nick said as he turned and saw nothing but a wave of zombies headed his way. He knew he couldn't shoot and hold the gas cans at the same time.

"Hey, catch." As he looked up, Zoey had tossed him a pipe bomb which he quickly chunked in the direction the horde had come from.

"Hey, thanks, honey." He called before walking away. Zoey just rolled her eyes.

"I got another in!" Nick announced. "How many do you think it needs?" he called to anyone who could hear him.

"Somewhere between ten and twenty!" Louis responded from his post behind Nick.

Can by can, the survivors ran around filling the tank and collecting more cans, throwing molotovs and pipe bombs, and yelling for assistance.

Then the ground began to vibrate.

Francis cursed loudly. "TANK!"

Rochelle and Ashley threw their gas cans towards Nick who was standing by the generator before they ran towards the beastly infected. Six guns were firing at it all at once (Louis out of range and covering Nick by the generator), but it seemed to deflect them as if it were a brick wall. It scooped up a nearby car and attempted to crush the survivors with it, but they all dodged, two running one way, two the other. The tank soon found itself confused as to which way to go.

So it went straight for Nick.

"NICK! NICK, LOOK OUT!" Ellis yelled as loud as his lungs allowed him.

Nick has just gotten gas can number fourteen in the generator when he looked up to see the tank rumbling towards him.

His legs failed him, as did his words.

This was not the case for the hunter, whom no one had seen, that screamed and braced itself to lung for the man in the suit.

"Nick!" Ashley shoved him out of the way, taking a few more shots at the tank, then running.

"Louis, hunter!" she called, and then soon after heard the dying yelp. "Thanks!"

As Ashley followed Nick on his hunt for another can of gas, the tank would not give up and was following them.

The other three survivors, along with the ones on the roof, had lost sight of them.

"Here." Ashley grabbed a gas can and tossed it to Nick. "RUN."

Nick's legs listened this time and he sprinted around the tank, easily escaping.

Ashley wasn't as lucky.

While the tank had missed her with the entire chunk of ground it threw, debris from the wall the chunk hit nailed her right in the side of the head and she instantly fell unconscious. The tank ran off for another survivor, finished with the girl.

Nick had made it back to the generator, and the other survivors soon caught up. As Nick was waiting to put his gas can into the generator, he froze for a moment.

"Where's Ashley?"

The roar of the tank gave no one the chance to answer and they soon split up again; Coach and Rochelle ran one way, Ellis and Nick the other.

"Nick, it's right behind us!" the boy called to him.

"ELLIS, RUN!" was the only response he could give, and then they split up.

Nick didn't seem to pay much attention to the fact that he was now alone, he was trying to reach a specific destination: where he had last seen Ashley with the gas can. And sure enough, there she was.

"Ashley!" he tried to yell, his out-of-breath lungs protesting in agony.

She wasn't moving, and that was the problem.

"Come on, Ashley.." he poured some water on her face and she began to squirm. "Yes!" Nick breathed.

"NICK!" the cry from Ellis came from a distance, and as he turned to look for him, he saw what the fuss was about.

The tank found him again.

He had nowhere to run; he wasn't going to leave Ashley behind. He also had no help as no one was around him or within range of the tank.

Nick took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, squeezing his finger onto the trigger of his machine gun, and not letting go.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, he ran out of ammo. Everything fell silent except his heartbeat slamming in his ears.

Slowly he opened his eyes; the tank lay in front of him. Dead.

He breathed the biggest sigh of relief ever, but his body would allow him to do no more. His ears rang from the gunshots, he could barely breathe, and his legs refused him movement once again.

He had no idea what was going on other than that he had just flirted with death-by-tank and won. Then he realized the other survivors were around him.

"Ashley!" he blurted out, involuntarily.

"She's fine, son, let's go; the bridge is lowering." Coach grabbed him by the arm.

When they reached the bridge, Zoey, Francis, and Louis were all on ground level.

"Good luck!" Zoey cheered, but her expression told them she was utterly distraught.

Then, Ellis finally worked up the courage to talk to her. "Come with us."

"What?"

"Come with us. To New Orleans." He insisted.

"Um-" she had no chance to answer before Ellis pulled her in and slammed his lips onto hers, and then drug her to the car.

Francis and Louis only shrugged and then followed.

All the ladies ended up in the vehicle; Zoey, Rochelle, Nick, and Ashley stuffed in the back, with Ellis driving, and Coach riding shotgun. Francis and Louis had jumped on the back to clear away any infected they found.

And that was that. They road all the way to New Orleans, Louisiana just like that.


	9. Chapter 9: N'Awlins

"I can't believe it, y'all. We made it." Ellis was sitting on the hood of the now motionless car.

And they _had_ made it. They were now in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although there were no signs of life, they had still made it to their destination, and Ellis was still in awe.

"Well, now what? There's nobody here." Francis frowned.

"Start walkin'." Coach replied as he headed further into the city.

They had stopped the car just before it ran out of gas. Unbelievably they made it, but then again, it was a racecar; it had a fairly large fuel tank. As they walked through the city, Nick noticed things, and though they were small things, they were still details that hinted at recent signs of life; smoke coming from an oven in an abandoned home, the warmth of a car's metal hood, and fresh blood on the ground.

He kept these things to himself, at first, because he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up into thinking that they would for sure be saved, but he felt the need to point them out to at least someone.

"Hey, Ashley.." he lingered behind the others.

She slowly paused and turned to face him. "Yeah?"

"I think someone's been here recently.." he said softly. "Or multiple someones. People."

Ashley's head tilted to the side a little, so he went on.

"There's been things, like.. car motors that were recently running, fresh blood smears.. uhh, there was like an oven that someone left on that was just starting to heat up.. yeah."

Ashley nodded. "Shouldn't you tell Coach?"

Nick quickly shook his head. "I don't want them to think that there's a definite rescue if there isn't."

Ashley understood his point and they caught up with the group so that no one would start to notice they were missing.

They walked for what seemed like days but it was only an hour or so, and then they came upon a blocked road. There was an alley nearby they could cut through, but it was extremely dark and extremely long.

"Stay close; this is the lesser part of N'Awlins." Coach nodded to them.

They knew there was no one there (or they assumed so, at least), but walking through the alleyway still gave every one of them an uneasy feeling. Nick slid his fingers between Ashley's left hand, and her head jerked up to face him.

"You scared, Suit?" she had an amused look on her face.

"No!" He snapped. "I just.." He didn't know how to finish the sentence. He wasn't scared, he just wanted to hold her hand. He didn't even know why. Ashley quickly brushed it off, though, and he smiled a little when she held his hand tighter.

"Hey! I think I see a helicopter!" Ellis, who was very far ahead and almost out of the alley, called to them.

Ashley slipped her fingers from Nick's grip and ran forward with the others. Sure enough, there was a helicopter. And not just a helicopter; three helicopters. And CEDA agents. Glares covered the faces of the group as a CEDA agent jogged toward them, arms raised and waving to clarify he was human.

"Well, look here, it's CEDA, guys." Nick sneered. Francis cursed loudly in response to the sight of the agent, but it didn't make much sense to anyone, so they just ignored it.

"Listen," the agent began, but Coach stopped him.

"Hold on. How's we s'posd to know you're really CEDA and how's we s'posd to know you ain't infected?"

"Yeah!" Ellis joined in. "How's we supposed to know ya gonna really get us outta here?"

Nick and Francis crossed their arms over their chests in perfect synchronization.

"Listen!" The CEDA agent tried again, this time sounding as if he was pleading. "We know that CEDA has been holding out, but all the agents are infected and / or dead, except the five of us," he gestured to the helicopters behind him. "and we're here to set the track record right for CEDA."

The survivors continued to stare.

"We heard that there were still people alive so we were sent here to rescue anyone who is still alive; we've been looking for you!"

There was silence for a moment, then Louis spoke. "What happens if you are CEDA agents, you aren't infected, and we go back with you?"

"We will take you to the only running hospital in the area, have you checked out, and then discharged back to your lives."

"Back to our lives?" Nick exclaimed. "What the hell kind of life are we supposed to have left? The only life that's still here is those flesh-eating infected that have swarmed everywhere!"

"Wrong." The CEDA agent pointed a finger at Nick. "You may have noticed explosions here and there and a lessening population of the infected." They all paused to think, as this was true. "We've almost wiped out all the infected. We've got agents out with flamethrowers, and grenades, and all you could imagine clearing out the infected in a much more protected and systematic way then people running through with guns – no offense. The states up north are resuming zombie-free lives as we speak and we've been receiving word that they're doing very well. We've almost cleared the globe of these things!" he seemed excited about the last sentence.

"Give us a minute." Coach said, and with that, the CEDA agent headed towards the helicopter.

"How are we supposed to trust this guy?" Nick said, arms still crossed.

"I don't know, but I think we should try." Coach held his hands up as if trying to calm Nick down. "Listen here- I say we go back with them. We got nowhere else to go and if there's a chance we get out of this mess, I say we take it. We're armed, and we _will_ refuse to give up our weapons until safely transported to a place where they can prove life is 'being resumed as normal' and that there are no infected."

Everyone let Coach's words sink in.

Francis nodded. "I'm in." and then one by one they agreed; Louis, then Rochelle, then Ellis, then Zoey, then Ashley, and with the hopeful look she gave Nick, even he agreed.

They made their way back to the helicopters and the CEDA agents.

"Are you in?" the one from earlier asked.

Nick slowly nodded. "So, where ya takin' us?"

The helicopters were fired up, blankets and pillows were provided, and one by one the survivors fell asleep; now feeling protected by the helicopter's doors and the agents that guarded them.


	10. Chapter 10: Home

Ashley was the only one who didn't shut her eyes longer than a blink the entire helicopter ride.

It was fairly quiet; the soft hum of the blades, and the quiet mumbling of the agents up front.

And of course snores erupting from Francis and Nick.

They had been split up into 2 groups and put into 2 different helicopters; one contained Coach, Louis, Zoey and Ellis, the other, Ashley, Nick, Francis, and Rochelle.

Ashley just sat leaned against a wall while the others slept. She couldn't even attempt sleep with all that was on her mind.

Were they really being rescued?

What was going on in the other helicopter? Was the other helicopter even with them anymore?

Thoughts continued to race through her head, but then she stopped and focused on one that almost excited her; she had heard they were landing in Texas. _Texas_. She had been born and raised there, and it was a place she never thought she'd see again. She wanted to be excited about going, but no one had clarified the rumor of Texas being the official destination, and she didn't even know if it really was safe.

What would her house be like, anyway? Her car, all her stuff.. heck, the entire neighborhood could be in flames as they speak. She quickly shook this thought out of her head as she heard they were preparing to land.

"Rochelle!" she whispered as she nudged the sleeping woman.

"Hm? Wha-?"

"We're landing now.."

"Oh!" Rochelle's eyes widened. Then she looked at the two snoring men. "Should we?"

"Nahh, the noise from opening the doors will work perfectly." Ashley winked.

"Ashley, you're so mean." Rochelle grinned.

The 'copter touched ground and the doors were flung open, causing both Francis and Nick to yell, and both Ashley and Rochelle to bust out laughing. Once the blades were shut off, the two girls eagerly moved towards the doors and the other helicopter outside that had not opened its doors.

They fidgeted impatiently, eyes locked on the silver flying vehicle, not even breaking stare when Francis yelled, "HEY! Where the hell are we!" at the pilot.

The doors slowly slid open, and Coach grinned when he saw the two young women standing there. They returned the smile.

They both walked up and, one at a time, embraced the large man.

"Hey hey!" Louis said cheerfully as he stepped down from the helicopter. Zoey followed with Ellis eagerly trailing behind her.

Francis had given up at yelling to the pilot and he stepped out taking his place next to Rochelle with Nick coming up behind Ashley.

"Excuse me," she waved to the pilot.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where are we?"

"You're in Texas, ma'am. Austin to be specific."

As she looked around, it all came back to her: the Frost Bank tower, the University of Texas campus buildings, she even somehow knew that they were standing on the top of Brackenridge Hospital. She was home.

A doctor came out of the doors leading into the upper level of the building, with his nurse close behind, and lead them inside to an elevator. The trip was short and silent and then they were each placed in a minor injury exam room and were told to wait patiently.

Francis didn't take this well and was very upset that he was being placed in what he considered 'quarantine' and responded to the doctors by grumbling loudly, "I hate hospitals.".

Ellis was sad to be away from Zoey but he did just fine seeing that they had been rescued and brought back to his home state.

Nick was restless; his thoughts about Ashley were getting to him again and he didn't want to sit still. He didn't want to be alone. He wanted to be with her.

While Nick fought with his thoughts, Ashley wasn't quite making friends with hers, either. She had confirmed they were in Texas. She had confirmed the CEDA agents were not infected. She had confirmed there was life resuming as normal within the state, as she had seen cars driving on the streets below earlier on the roof. But what _were_ they supposed to do now?

Of course her thoughts were somewhat settled moments later.

A doctor came to each of them and did typical check up exams; all five senses, reflexes, and them some less common tests, which involved needles, that would determine whether they were infected or not. To the surprise of the doctors, they were found to be completely immune. Of course, this came as no surprise to the survivors. It was also explained to them that if they had a previous residence they would like to return to, CEDA would provide transportation to such, but would not guarantee that the home would still be standing and/or uninhabited, by _anything_. However, if they chose to stay within the state, and the tri-city area, they would have an apartment purchased for them if they could not find a home, they would be given a reasonable amount of money to put towards a vehicle of their choice, if necessary, cell phones would be purchased for all who needed them, all records of any kind (driver's license, bank accounts, etc.) would be transferred as necessary, and so on.

Everything seemed to began to go uphill from there; they were all taken to Ashley's house to find that it was intact, as well as most of that part of the city. Her spare house key was hidden on the porch where she left it, and the inside was in perfect condition with only a little dust. She found her car keys in her bedroom where she left them and found that her dark red Jeep Wrangler was still running perfectly. She, along with CEDA, volunteered to be transport to anywhere the survivors needed to go. Coach climbed in the front with her, Nick, Rochelle, and Louis in the back. They drove to Coach's grandmother's house first, and found she was still doing well as was the house. He told them to leave him there and he would contact them later.

One by one they drove from house to house until everyone had found a place; Ellis' neighborhood was still standing and he invited Zoey to stay with him the night until they could work things out more, and she shyly obliged, Rochelle and Louis each got a rather large apartment purchased by CEDA, and all that was left was Nick.

"I don't think I'm quite ready for all this.."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean.. all this, it's gonna dig up some of my past. I know that if my name starts popping up again, anyone who's still alive will find me."

Ashley knew what he meant. "Well, I'm not letting you go homeless. Would you like to stay with me the night? I have a guest room..." she tried to simply propose the idea, not wanting to sound too eager, or too careless.

Nick was hesitant but he said yes, and she drove them back to her house.

The house was two stories, and the exterior was a pale gold. The inside was soft shade of navy in the living room, the same navy and white in the kitchen, and the theme continued upstairs where Ashley's room was. Her room was a pale gray, with all black furniture. It was a gorgeous black and white theme and Nick loved how soft but bold it all seemed. The guest room, which was downstairs, was simply off-white. Ashley shrugged and said she just never got around to painting it, and with that, she left.

Nick stood there for a moment in the silence, taking everything in.

The room was a decent size, as was the bed in it, but it wasn't like he'd complain if there was anything he would want to change as this was the nicest place he'd been in for a long time and one of the nicest things someone had done for him in a long time. He noticed there was a bathroom in this room, like Ashley's, only the tile was tan and brown, whereas Ashley's personal bathroom upstairs was gray, like her room, with black and white tile, and the one in the guest room was smaller. It had the same style, however; a walk-in shower with a solid wall where the shower head was and a frosted glass door next to it, a half-wall in front of the toilet area, and a marble countertop in which was a round sink.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror.

"Dear God, man, you've let yourself go.." he told his scruffy reflection.

He went back to the room and took off everything but his boxers and undershirt and crawled into the soft bed; he fell asleep almost instantly, almost smiling.


	11. Chapter 11: What If I Tried?

The next day, Nick woke up in a hazy, sleep-coma. He slowly and stiffly rolled over and blinked at the clock on the bedside table; 12:03pm.

He sat up and stretched letting out a long yawn, and as his eyes made their way to the door, he noticed a plastic shopping bag was hanging from the handle. He slowly walked over to inspect its contents: shampoo, a bar of soap, a plastic black comb, a small can of men's shaving cream, and a razor.

Then he noticed a small, folded note;

Thought you might want these, not trying to suggest you're in need of a shower

but I know it didn't hurt me to take one.

Enjoy!

I'll have breakfast ready for you by the time you are done

- Ashley H

**P.S. The razor is ****not**** a suggestion!**

He laughed to himself at the last part, gratefully took the bag and headed into the bathroom.

The shower felt _amazing_. Nick didn't care if Ashley was trying to imply he needed one or not, he was glad he had opportunity to take one. When he got out, he dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist, then looked in the mirror. He considered leaving the scruffy beard that was beginning to appear on his face just to bug Ashley, but instead he grabbed the razor and sliced it off until he was back to his normally smooth face. He walked out of the bathroom and went to put his blue button down shirt back on but he found that all his previous clothes were gone, and new ones were now lying on the bed.

Not to mention the replacement outfit was not a suit.

Just the same, he slipped into the jeans and threw on the black cotton v-neck, which both seemed to somehow fit him perfectly. He combed his hair back before leaving the room and heading towards the kitchen where Ashley was wearing a white v-neck, similar to his, and a pair of grey Hollister sweatpants. Her hair was pulled up into an even looser messy bun than she had worn all the times before, and it suddenly made Nick wonder if he would ever see her hair down. She had the radio on and she was quietly singing to herself.

"Morning." His scratchy voice called out to her with a nod, as he sat down at the cut out window counter that opened a view between the kitchen and the living room.

She paused her singing and laughed. "Hey, sleeping beauty."

She walked over to the stove, slipped something onto a plate, and then placed the plate in front of him; scrambled eggs, fried sausage, and three stacked pancakes. The smell that reached Nick's nose told him to dive in but he felt like he should at least have _some_ manners as she was doing all these nice things for him.

"You made this?" his eyes widened a bit. The food looked so good, was he just really hungry? Or was she also an amazing cook?

"Yeah, yeah I did. If you've got a problem with that, give it back, and I'll eat it later. Geez, Suit."

"No, I just-.. Thank you."

She didn't respond so he took this as a chance to start eating. The food that reached his lips was more heavenly than the smell; it was the best food he'd eaten, obviously in a long time, but pretty much ever.

"Oh my, Gosh!" he mumbled with his mouthful of food, causing Ashley to turn and look at him, a little confused.

He swallowed it all at once. "Sorry. This is just.. this is really good. You're a really good cook. Like really."

She blushed a little, but she hoped he hadn't noticed. "Thank you, I'm glad you like it."

He cleaned the whole plate and she even gave him a fourth pancake before he announced that he was content. Ashley just laughed and rinsed off his plate in the sink.

"So, hey," he said a bit more softly, causing her to look up with curious eyes. "Thank you, really, for letting me stay here, and all that you've done. It really means alot to me that you have more faith in me than the others."

She gave him a friendly smile. "You're very welcome."

Her smile was all it took; now he was smiling back, and the longer they kept eye contact, the more Ashley held in a laugh. No, not a laugh. A _giggle_, and it soon escaped her lips causing Nick to laugh in response.

"Oh!" She suddenly remembered. "Ellis is stopping by today, he was working in the area and I told him to head over for lunch, and he should be here any minute now, so I just thought I should let you know so it's not a surprise.."

She spoke fast and Nick smirked a little at the fact that he could tell while she did need to tell him this, she was also trying to cover up the little moment they just had. Then the doorbell rang.

"Come in!" Ashley called.

"Well, alright, alright, alright!" a strong Southern accent replied. Ashley laughed, Nick rolled his eyes.

Ellis walked in wearing a dirty grey t-shirt, a pair of old jeans, and the same old black boots and tow-truck baseball cap they had met him in.

"Hey, Ellis." Ashley smiled at him.

"Howdy. So uh, I left my coveralls outside 'cause they's all dirty and gross and I didn't wanna get yer house all dirty and gross, so I apologize if I get grease on yer porch and uh.. hey could I use your sink?" He held up two blackened and browned grease and mud-stained hands.

Ashley laughed again, and then reached over and turned on the water. It was then, when Ellis went to the sink, he saw Nick sitting there.

"Hey, Nick! I didn't know you was stayin' with Ashley!"

Before Nick could open his mouth, Ashley shot him a look from behind the young mechanic that said "You'd better be nice.", so Nick rethought his response.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I didn't get a place for myself yet so she offered her guest room to me, and here I am."

Ashley had now walked into another room to get a different towel for Ellis to use, but even so, Ellis leaned towards Nick and spoke a bit softer.

"Hey, so are you and Ashley like, together now?"

"No."

"Oh.. Well, I think you should be, I mean, she's pretty and she's smart and she's good with guns, I mean, hey, what more do you need? And she's already got a house, and I mean, Nick you're a cool guy. No, you're a pretty awesome guy. And I think you and Ashley should be courtin' and stuff, ya know?"

Nick didn't respond, but thankfully Ashley walked in and pulled Ellis' attention away with the towel, so Nick didn't have to say anything.

He definitely thought about it, though.

_Why would he ask if we're together? Anybody in their right mind.. or even Ellis knows that a guy like me doesn't even have half a shot at a girl like her. He's right though.. she's very pretty, she's very smart, and she's also very good with guns._ He chuckled silently at the last part, and then he was pulled out of his thoughts by Ashley's voice.

"Well, sit down, Ellis, lemme getcha sometihin' to eat."

"Alrighty, thank you, Miss Ashley." Ellis took his spot next to Nick, who reflexively flinched away from his grease-covered shirt.

Ashley brought him some food, and as he ate, the two of them talked, but Nick just sat there, silent. He was still wrestling with his thoughts of her, as always.

Then he noticed they were looking at him.

"What?" he said, sounding a little too defensive, and he realized and regretted this the second the words left his mouth.

Ashley frowned. "We were just wondering if you were okay, you went all quiet.. geez, sorry."

He wanted to protest and apologize, but she already started talking to Ellis, who was now in the kitchen with her, and packaging up his leftovers so he could take them home. She walked him to the door and Nick felt a pang in his chest when she gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. _Was that jealousy? She was just being nice. And it was just Ellis._ And then she didn't come back. She went straight upstairs to change, and Nick told himself not to follow as much as he wanted to say he was sorry. So he just sat there. He couldn't think straight, and he hated it. Ellis' words were now burned into his brain, but they made him think.

_What if I tried to have a chance with her?_


	12. Chapter 12: A New Nick

The next day was quite an eventfully uneventful day. Ashley, who had convinced Nick everything would be fine, took Nick to get all his personal accounts set back up, and to get an apartment for himself, as much as he silently didn't want to leave the guest room of her home.

He got his bank accounts set back up, and then he was to get his driver's license picture updated. Ashley made a face when he refused to smile so he softened up with a little smirk for her sake. The two trips were fairly short and then he was off to get an apartment. While Louis and Rochelle ended up being across from each other, Nick wanted to be at a different complex that was closer to Ashley. Of course, he wouldn't admit this, so he simply told her he wanted to be at a specific one, and when she asked why, he simply said he just had a feeling. She didn't protest or try to change his mind.

He still had two nights left before he had to leave on his own; tonight, and the night after. He knew he had to do something to make her see that he had changed, that he wasn't the lowlife conman he used to be. That he _loved_ her. He wasn't going to push back his feelings anymore. The dilemma was, somehow Nick had gotten pulled into staying the day at Ellis' house while Ashley and Zoey were out. While Ellis rambled on about how Zoey was so great and how he wished there was some kind of sign they were "officially dating", Nick found himself so caught up in thought, that he couldn't pay attention.

"Hey, Nick?"

He snapped out of his trance. "Yeah?"

"You alright? You look kinda.. I dunno, out-of-it."

Nick slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'm just.." Oh, hell, why was he keeping things from Ellis anymore? "I've got Ashley on my mind, a lot."

Ellis tilted his head to the side. "Like, 's that bad or good?"

Nick was silent for a moment. "You see, that's what I don't know.. I mean, Ellis, I really do believe I'm in love with her. No one that knows me would think I'm anything short of insane had they heard me say that. I just feel like the only problem is why would_ she_ feel the same about _me_?"

"Well, why wouldn't she, Nick? I mean, she already let you stay at her house and all, I don't see any signs that she don't like you.."

"Think about it, Ellis. I was a conman. For all she knows, I've killed people, which, mind you, I haven't, but I've never talked to her about me before, I mean, I've never really even had more than a five-minute conversation with her before. I don't know how I'm supposed to show her that I've changed."

"Well, I believe you." Ellis was quieter now, as Nick's voice had previously rose.

There was silence.

"Thanks, Overalls."

Ellis grinned and slapped him on the back just as they heard someone opening the front door. Ashley and Zoey came in, voices quiet.

"I just don't know. I'm gonna have to really think about it, especially now."

Zoey nodded.

They were talking about Nick. Ashley was thinking that there was something different about him, but she didn't want her silly feelings for a guy to blind her from the truth.

"Well, you know where to find me." Zoey smiled at her.

"Thanks." Ashley weakly smiled back.

By now, Nick and Ellis had stood up and were just watching the two girls in the doorway. Zoey quickly tried to pick up conversation.

"Hey, how was y'all's time together?" she laughed a little.

"It was good and all, yeah, ya know." Ellis said, confusing the other three, but they shrugged it off.

"Well, I suppose I should head out. Um.." Ashley turned to Nick. "Are you staying here? Or did you need me to take you somewhere? Or.."

"I'll go with you, if that's fine." He smiled at her and she blushed a little.

They returned home and Nick fell asleep on the couch almost instantly. Ashley just laughed and went upstairs to work on something.

While he slept, Nick dreamt of Ashley and Caroline, again. It wasn't the first dream he'd had of his ex-wife, Caroline, nor the first dream he'd had of Ashley, or even of the two of them together. This dream seemed to be a continuation of the last one he'd had of the two girls, which had taken place in one of the abandoned safe houses a while back.

"I just don't get it, Nicky, I thought you loved me."

"Caroline, please.." he tried to plead.

"Where does this leave us? I thought we had a chance.."

He quickly turned to Ashley. "Ashley, we do, I just-.."

"You're just another player, Nicky! That's all you ever were, I bet you've got even more women lined up and wrapped around your finger, just like me, and that thing!"

Nick paused and his expression darkened at Caroline's words. "What did you just call her?"

"You heard me!" she turned to Ashley. "He loved _me_ first! He_ married_ me; he hasn't even _kissed_ you!"

Nick jumped awake, but found that Ashley was still upstairs, and he was alone on the couch.

_Let her go, Nick. She left you; it wasn't the other way around._

He sighed and put his face in his hands.

And then he got an idea.

He silently crept upstairs where he found Ashley's bedroom door cracked open. He peeked inside to see her asleep on the bed, her laptop at her feet, and her phone loosely hanging in her hand. Then he looked at his watch; they still had time.

Ashley woke up and rubbed her eyes. What time was it? She leaned over to look at her phone; 7:38pm. She yawned and then reached forward to close her laptop, but noticed something on it. A word document had been opened and there was a note there for her:

_**Put on something fancy and**_

_**meet me downstairs by 8 o'clock.**_

_**- Nick :)**_

What was this? A date? She couldn't help but smile back at the little face next to his name, and then she hopped up to go to her closet. On the way, she passed a mirror on the wall and paused to look at her reflection.

"Oh gosh." She said aloud at the sight of her messy hair. She didn't even have her makeup done right to go out. But she didn't want to disappoint Nick, so she would do her best.

At exactly 8, Nick was standing at the bottom of the staircase. He had on black slacks, a silver button-down shirt, and draped over his arm was a black coat that was more casual (and more clean) than his white one. He smiled to himself at the thought of his new looks, combed his hair back once more, and then waited.

Then he heard Ashley come out of her room.

She had on a slim black v-neck with a lace trim on the collar, a lacy black skirt that reached her knees in the front and dropped to the floor in the back, and on her feet were a pair of tall black cowboy boots with pointed toes, and beautiful blue designs on the sides.

She was standing by the top of the staircase with her hands on the balcony railing, and she was nervously chewing on her lip.

"Wow." It was all Nick could think to say as he looked up at her, and he smiled when she blushed. She slowly descended the stairs, a wavy wisp of hair falling away from her simple bun as she looked down.

Then they were standing about a foot apart, eyes locked.

"Are you ready?" Nick smiled softly.

"Absolutely." She smiled back.

But just before they walked out, Nick had a thought. "Hold on." He laid his coat down at his feet and Ashley tilted her head to the side, confused.

Slowly his hands reached up and untucked the two small pins from her hair; long brown waves cascaded down her back as she let out a small, silent gasp.

Nick was speechless for a moment, and then he smiled. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" She asked him softly.

He came closer to her. "That you would look even more beautiful with your hair let down."

She didn't know what to say, or do, and then he gently kissed her on the cheek, making her flush pink. He smiled again, and held out his arm as he lead her to the car.

It was the start of a great night, and what Nick hoped would be an even better future.


	13. Chapter 13: What's So Bad About Nick?

The next morning, Ashley did something she never did, and woke up late. _And confused._ It was 11:54 pm and she had only a few ideas as to what was going on, but she couldn't help but pause to smile when she remembered last night. She had gone on a date, a real date, with Nick. He took her to a nice little restaurant downtown and then they walked the streets looking at all the different shops and places. It was amazing. Nick was amazing.

_Oh, gosh. Nick._ She thought. Was he still even here? She flew out of the bed and ran downstairs without thinking, and found Nick in the kitchen where she should have been.

He turned when he heard her. "Morning, sleepyhead." He smiled at her before looking her over. "Sleep well?"

She looked down and realized she was still in her pink Tyler's™ tank top and baggy grey sweatpants. Her loose bun had somewhat fallen and was now slouched on the back of her head. She hadn't thought to change before she came down, or really thought at all.

"Sorry." She bit her lip.

"Nahh, I think you look cute." He winked at her before turning back to whatever he was doing.

_What is this? Why is he suddenly being so nice?_ Ashley didn't know what to make of it.

She slowly slumped to the living room and fell onto the couch, face in the pillow, which made Nick chuckle from the kitchen.

"Wm om yo mggin me?"

"Either you just asked 'When are you mugging me?' or..." Nick looked at her confused.

She lifted her head from the pillow and repeated herself. "What are you making me?"

"Hm." He laughed. "Glad you know it's for you."

She slid off of the couch and climbed up onto one of the stools at the counter and he went to grab a plate of whatever he had cooked.

"I never said I was a chef, but I knew you'd be hungry.." he placed the plate in front of her.

Eggs and biscuits, just like she had made for him the other day, but in place of the gravy, there was red.

She gave the red substance a confused look and then looked up at Nick.

He hesitated. "It's tomato gravy."

_Tomato gravy?_ She didn't say anything, but she raised her eyebrows.

"I can't help it," he threw his hands up in front of him as if he was pleading for her forgiveness. "I'm Italian; it's the only breakfast I know how to make."

Ashley slowly took a bite of food covered in Nick's 'tomato gravy' and he watched her with hopeful eyes that she wouldn't hate it.

He waited.

She looked up at him. "That.." she knew the pause she took to finish swallowing would kill him. "was really good." She smiled.

He rolled his eyes at her when she laughed at his sigh of relief but he smiled, too. "I'm glad you like it."

"So, you're like a legit Italian?"

He made a strange face at her. "As legit as they come, I suppose?"

Ashley laughed. "You know what I meant."

"Well," he leaned over the counter towards her, a musing look on his face. "my mother was born and raised in Italy if that's what you're asking."

"Really.." she said looking into his eyes before she slid off the stool to put her plate in the sink.

"Yeah. I mean, I wasn't, obviously, but my mom and her mom were. That's the Italian in my blood."

Ashley had now made her way to the couch and was hoping he would follow, which, when she turned and sat down she saw that he was not far from her. She patted the spot next to her and he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on and went and sat next to her.

She leaned toward him. "So what about your dad?"

Nick was silent for a moment, then sighed. "He was American. I think his great grandparents might have been German but he was from Boston. He took a trip to Italy and met my mom there, and he was going to make plans to stay to be with her but she begged him to take her to America because she said she went once as a little girl and she wanted to see more, but ya know, God only knows why."

Ashley laughed a little.

"So anyway, she moved back to Boston with him, they got married, and a year later, they had me. Two years after came my sister, Samantha."

Ashley was still watching him. After last night, something inside her made her so interested in Nick and his past, but she wasn't sure why yet.

"So, hey." He said. "Now you tell me about _you_."

Ashley groaned. "Believe me, there is nothing interesting about me."

"Tell me anyway." Nick smiled, and then she couldn't tell him no.

"Well, I mean, really, there isn't anything interesting about me. I was born and raised here in Texas,"

"Which is where you got your adorable little accent." Nick cut in making her blush.

"My dad was born in New Braunfels, and my mom was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She moved around a lot and ended up here for her last two years of high school, where she met my dad. They got married, had me, and that was that."

"You're an only child?" He asked.

"Yeah. Just me. My mom said she wanted a boy and a girl, but when they got me first, they decided I would be the first and the last."

"So, you grew up here?" he was just as interested in her as she was in him.

"Well, I was born here, but I grew up on a small ranch in Cuero. I went to college here, so my parents got me a little apartment not too far from campus, and when I graduated, my grandparents paid for about half my house, which totally put me in tears 'cause they said they were savin' that money up since the day I was born."

"That was really sweet."

"Yeah.. and then my grandpa passed a year after I moved in, and my grandma not too long after him."

"I'm sorry." He told her. And he meant it.

She shrugged. "It's fine, I know they're together again."

Then the doorbell rang, and Ashley groaned, falling into Nick's lap, who wasn't exactly sure how to handle it.

"It's open!" She lifted her head up to yell before laying back down.

There was a soft clicking noise from the door, and then Zoey's voice called back. "No it's not! Let me in!"

Ashley groaned again. "I can't get up!"

"What? Why?"

"Um, I don't have any clothes on!"

Nick snorted as he tried to suppress his laugh.

"WHAT? AND NICK IS STILL THERE?"

He couldn't hold it in any longer and he began to crack up.

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine.."

"ASHLEY RAE!"

Ashley sighed then laughed. "Go get the door for Zoey before she breaks it down."

She slid out of his lap, and when he stood up, she laid back down where he had been sitting.

Nick and Ashley didn't realize it, but the fact that Nick opened the door rather than Ashley didn't help their case with Zoey, who quickly pushed past Nick when he opened the door to let her in.

"Ashley?"

"Couch."

Zoey found her on the couch where Nick had left her, fully clothed.

She sighed in relief. "Ashley Rae, why would you tell me that!"

"Uh, cause it could have been true, duh. Besides, I didn't think you'd freak out, you never did before!"

"Nick wasn't in your house before!"

Ashley shrugged. "So?"

Zoey's eyes widened. "So I wouldn't be okay with you being NAKED!"

Ashley snorted. "What's so bad about Nick? Last night was pretty great."

Nick's face flushed pink and Zoey's jaw hit the floor before she turned to him, all of this making Ashley burst out laughing, and then Nick began to laugh, too.

"Calm down, Zo, nothing happened last night."

Zoey's eyes narrowed at Ashley, and then she turned back to Nick.

"Ellis is waiting for you in the truck. I have to discuss things with my friend here."

"Oh!.. Yeah, right." Nick had forgotten he was finishing moving into his apartment today. So, Nick left with Ellis and Zoey followed Ashley upstairs to her room.

"So.. tell me nothing happened last night." Zoey sat on Ashley's bed while Ashley dug through the closet to find something to wear.

"Well, something _did_ happen last night. But not what you think." Ashley said as she slid her white v-neck on.

She told her about the date and all that happened last night, and how this morning he had not only made her breakfast, but he opened up a little to her.

"Wow." Zoey said. "I'm honestly speechless." _Maybe there is something good about Nick after all.._ She thought to herself.


	14. Chapter 14: Give Me A Chance?

Nick jumped at the sound of someone knocking on his door.

It had been his first night at his new apartment, and his first sleepless night in a while. There was nothing wrong, it wasn't that he wasn't used to being there, or anything. He was just used to staying up late on the couch with Ashley, the TV on and turned down low, and they would just talk, about whatever, until they went to bed. He loved it. And now, he missed it.

He slowly walked to the door to open it, finding Ashley and Ellis on the other side. Ashley had asked to come over the next day to say hi and to see the place, and Ellis just wanted to tag along, which was odd because Zoey was not coming.

"Well, shoot, Nick, did ya get any sleep last night? You look mighty tired." Ellis asked when he walked in the door.

"No, you know, I really didn't, and I am tired. But it's all good." He shrugged, smiling at Ashley when his eyes met hers.

Ashley hoped that the makeup she had put on concealed her dark circles. She hadn't slept the previous night either. In fact, the night they arrived and the night Nick had taken her out were the only nights she had gotten a good night's sleep in a long time. Last night, she didn't even know why she couldn't sleep. But she couldn't. She didn't want to say she missed Nick but she also didn't want to say it wasn't him at all..

"This is nice." She said with a smile to pull herself away from her thoughts. "It's.. cozy."

Nick laughed a little and Ellis slouched onto the soft, white sofa.

"Don't worry, I ain't been to work yet." He told Nick's half-disgusted, half-pained expression.

"Oh!" Ashley exclaimed. "I got you something, but hold on I left it in the car." And with that, she was out the door, trotting down the stairs to her Jeep, and Ellis and Nick were left inside with the silence.

"I think y'all should be official already." Ellis said after a while.

"What?"

"You and Ashley. I think you should be officially dating now."

Nick didn't say anything for a moment, and then he shrugged. "I don't know if we ever will be, I only hope so."

"Did ya kiss her yet?"

Nick felt his face get hot but he hoped it didn't show, and thankfully Ashley came back in so he didn't have to answer.

"Ta-daa!" She held up two black pillows. "I know it's not much but thought they would look nice on your couch." She shrugged.

"Thanks." Nick smiled as she tossed him a pillow, and he set it down on one end of the couch.

Walking by, she smacked Ellis in the face with the other one and then tossed it in his lap making Nick snort a laugh.

Then Ellis' phone rang. "Hello?.. Oh, yeah, hey! I-.. Well, you-... Okay.. Ummmm..." He turned to Ashley and covered the mouthpiece of the phone with one hand. "Zoey wants me to go pick her up.. her car is being borrowed right now and I have my truck keys with me.."

"Oh.. Um.. yeah, here, you can take my car, I mean.." She turned to Nick.

"It's fine if you stay here."

Ashley tossed Ellis the keys.

"Thanks so much," he said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't worry 'bout it I'm on my way.." his voice faded as he walked out the door.

"Sorry." Ashley shrugged after a few seconds.

Nick tilted his head to the side. "Why? I don't mind you staying here, I mean, hell, you let me stay with you this whole time."

She smiled a little and shrugged again, and he patted the spot on the couch next to him.

It was like it should be; shoes off, TV on, Nick and Ashley side by side on the couch.. he loved it.

He loved _her_.

_Wait, what?_ He thought to himself. _I mean... Yeah I guess I do love her.._

"Hey, Ashley?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face him.

He took a breath to speak and then his eyes drifted.

"What is it?" She leaned towards him, her smile falling. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine.. I just don't know how to say this."

"Come on, Nick, you can tell me anything."

"Alright.." he thought for a minute. "So, help me with this scenario: let's say there's a girl and I really like her. I mean, we're friends and stuff, but I don't think she likes me back, and I don't know that she knows I like her."

Ashley thought for a moment. "Wait.. You like a girl, Nick? Wow, that's a step up for you, I didn't think you liked people at all." She laughed a little and he rolled his eyes.

"Is she here? Like, in the apartment complex, I mean."

He paused before a smirk appeared on his lips. "Yeah, yeah, she is.

"Aww! Okay, well, have you tried to show her that you like her?"

"Absolutely. I just think she thought I was being friendly. I kinda wanted to give up 'cause she just doesn't see it.."

Ashley was quiet for a minute. "Ya know," she looked up at him. "Just go up, and kiss her."

Nick's eyes widened a little as his eyebrows raised.

"Really, I mean, like, if you've got a chance with her, that's how you find out, and if she slaps you and runs off, then it wasn't meant to be anyway."

Nick just stared.

"You feel me? Really, Nick."

He shrugged. "I guess I could try. Do I like, catch her by surprise?"

"Yeah, yeah! Like.. next time you see her, or you're with her, or whatever.. just... kiss her, ya know? And then see where it goes from there."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

"Sure thing." She smiled, and then the attention of the two went back to the TV.

A few minutes of Ashley absentmindedly fiddling with her shirt hem went by and Nick pretended to be paying attention to the TV.

"Hey, Ashley?" he said, again.

"Yes?" She laughed a little and looked up at him.

And then he did exactly what she told him to, and he kissed her. On the lips. Right there.

And the best part was, she didn't pull away.

The door opened in the background, and Ellis walked in, followed by Zoey, but the couple didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind I brought Zoey back, and I brought my truck, 'cause like I thought it was gonna take longer but-... holy shoot.." Ellis and Zoey just stared at the two on the couch before Zoey slowly set Ashley's Jeep keys on the counter and pulled Ellis' back towards the door by the arm, and the two left silently.

When the kissing couple broke apart Ashley's face had confusion written on it, and her eyes were wide and curious.

"Thanks for not slapping me in the face and running away." Nick grinned at her.

She chuckled and blushed a little and she froze as he gently kissed her on the cheek the same way he had the night they went out.

"It.. She.. Me?" She barely managed to get out, but Nick understood her.

"Yeah, you." He smiled, but then his expression fell. "I mean.. I know I was a total dick in the beginning, but.. I hoped I could show you I changed, and that.. I'm really falling for you, Ashley."

Their eyes met and locked onto each other.

"Give me a chance?" Nick said softly.

Ashley slowly shook her head and smiled. "What am I gonna do with you, Suit.."

Nick laughed softly, and their lips briefly met once more before Ashley laughed and said, "Come on, we'd better go find Zoey and Ellis before this gets out of control."

Nick just laughed and they walked out hand in hand as they left for her car.

_This_ was how it should be. And he loved it. And he loved _her._


	15. Chapter 15: Holy Hell

Word of Ashley and Nick's newfound relationship spread fairly quickly, from Zoey to Rochelle, Rochelle to Louis, Louis to Francis, and nobody knew how Coach knew, but he definitely knew. Conveniently, of course, everyone knew by the time the night came wherein the group was set to go to dinner. Nick wouldn't admit it, but he was excited he had another opportunity to wear a suit, as it was a fancy dinner indeed.

"DRESS SHOPPPING!" Zoey and Rochelle squealed in unison as Ashley proposed the idea to the group.

The giddy pair grabbed Ashley by the arm and they ran out the door.

"Well, shoot.." Ellis mumbled.

He then turned to see the remaining men looking at him.

"Oh.. I don't have a suit or nothin' fancy 's all."

"Don't blame ya, me neither!" Francis said.

Nick held his jaw in from dropping to the floor with all his might.

"I'd help you two out, but all I have are shirts and ties. Nothing more." Louis shrugged.

"That's it!" Nick snapped. "Get in the car!"

The three just stared at Nick as if he had just literally exploded.

"What? We're going to get suits, of course."

And thus the day went; Ashley, Zoey, and Rochelle were out looking for dresses, and Nick took Ellis, Francis, and Louis to get suits. Coach simply stayed at home as he was already prepared.

"Ohmigosh, what about this?!" Rochelle held up a long, fuchsia colored dress. "For you, Zoey. Or do you think that's too bright..?"

"Too long." Ashley shook her head. "Zoey's got a man to please." She winked at the now blushing Zoey, and Rochelle laughed.

"Hey, hey, so do you!" Zoey laughed back at Ashley, who was now almost blushing herself.

And the three carried on searching through what seemed like miles of dresses for just the right one.

"Holy shoot.." Ellis said as he entered the store. "Nick, it's like you were born here or somethin'!"

Nick couldn't help but chuckle at Ellis' comment. "Come on." He motioned for them to follow him.

He got them all fitted properly while he went to look for something they could wear, soon enough, he had even Francis looking himself over in a mirror and picking out colors of shirts and ties to wear.

"Hey, Nick, what about you?" Ellis said coming out of a dressing room in a coat that was clearly too big for him.

"What about me?" Nick said from the chair he was in as an attendant slid the large coat off of Ellis.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said as she replaced it with a smaller one. "I mean, what are you gonna wear? Y'ain't tried on nothin' since we walked in, you just been helpin' us."

"Yeah, what about you, Nick?" Louis agreed.

"Oh, I just figured I'd wear one I've already got."

"Aw, hell naw. You gotta get a new one!"

And then the tables turned and it was Ellis and Louis picking out shirts and ties for Nick.

"Hey, where's Francis?" Louis finally said after a while.

"I got it!" Francis called at exactly that moment.

The three neared the dressing room he was in.

Francis stepped out wearing none other than a _bowtie._

"No?" he said to the expressions of the three men, who quickly shook their heads no.

That evening everyone returned, and the guys found that the girls came back empty handed.

"Really? Out of every store you could have gone to, and you found nothing?" Nick exclaimed.

"Oh, you know.." Ashley twiddled her thumbs. "It just wasn't our lucky day."

"But we still have tomorrow before the dinner!" Rochelle chimed.

The men all shrugged and nodded before stepping outside. The girls waited a moment or so and then all huddled together.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure Nick left the bags in the guest room but I only have so long before he goes to get them. I need the two of you to distract him, distract all of them, while I go see what colors they picked. I doubt I can get a look at each full outfit.. but colors will work!" Ashley told them.

The two girls nodded and casually slipped outside to talk to the guys.

"Hey, where's Ashley?" Things started off fine but then Nick had to ask.

"Oh, she.. went to.. check on something real quick." Rochelle tried to say as smoothly as possible.

They weren't buying it.

"Like, on her computer, ya know? She's waiting on an email from some people about some photography thing, I dunno." Zoey quickly slipped in.

"Oh, yeah, okay." Nick shrugged.

Safe.

And then Ashley stepped out to join them, they said their goodnights to Francis, Louis, Zoey, and Ellis, and then Rochelle, Nick, and Ashley slipped back inside.

"Thanks for letting me stay here, Ashley. You're a lifesaver."

"No problem, Ro, I know what it's like to have furniture moving in and out of your house, and to have an unassembled bed." Ashley laughed. "The guest room is over there if you wanna put your stuff down.

It took a moment, but then Ashley's words registered with Nick.

"Ho, hey, hold on, lemme just.. grab something out of there real quick." And he slipped in and grabbed the suits as Rochelle held in a laugh.

"I'm gonna head out." Nick told Ashley as Rochelle put her things away in the spare bedroom.

"Alrighty, I'm looking forward to tomorrow." She smiled as she came closer to him. "You know I love how you look in suits.. Suit." She winked.

He chuckled. "Only you could ever get away with calling me that." And then he placed his lips onto hers and slid his arms around her waist.

"Goodnight." She smiled as they slowly broke away.

"Night." He grinned back and headed for the door.

She watched him go, and then she realized Rochelle was standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Oh.. my.. GOSH!" she threw her hands in the air, and landed them on Ashley's shoulders. "Zoey was _so_ right! You guys are UH-DOR-UH-BULL."

Ashley laughed. "Really?"

"Yes!" Rochelle exclaimed before calming down. "I've never seen him so.. sensitive like that. It's really sweet. You really have changed him, Ashley."

Ashley liked the thought of that, that she had actually changed Nick, because from what she could tell, it was for the better.

She smiled to herself as she headed upstairs to go to bed that night.

The next morning, Ashley and Rochelle picked up Zoey to continue their plan of matching their dresses to that of their dates.

"I still can't believe you've got a thing for Lou-"

"Shh!" Rochelle cut Zoey off.

Ashley laughed. "Calm down, it's not like he's here."

"I know, I just.. I dunno." Rochelle giggled a little.

"I mean," Zoey continued. "It's _Louis_. He's like, quiet and.. honestly kinda dorky. He just doesn't seem like your type."

Rochelle blushed. "I dunno.." she shrugged. "I guess I find all that to be cute."

The girls found dresses paired with that of their dates; Zoey and Ellis were pink, Rochelle and Louis were purple, and Ashley and Nick were red.

Time to leave for the restaurant was nearing faster than Nick wanted it to. Ellis and Louis had met at Nick's apartment to get ready as he was keeping the suits for everyone, but Francis did not show, and earlier that day Nick had realized that the navy blue shirt set belonging to the biker was missing from his row of suits.

"Well, this is kind of normal Francis." Louis shrugged. "He's just like that."

Nick didn't like it but he also didn't have much time to care, so he went to get ready to leave.

"Oh, man." Ellis said to Louis as they waited for Nick to get dressed. "I ain't never been so dressed up in my life." The Southern man was so giddy, all Louis could do was laugh every time Ellis shook his arms and jumped around a little in the doorway.

"Okay, Nick.. You got this." The ex-con told himself in the mirror. "You've got Ashley, you've got a new suit, you look fine as hell. You. Have. Got this." He slicked his hair back once more, took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

He was honestly nervous, and now he knew why. He had finally gotten somewhere with Ashley, and now he was taking her on a more official date than the first one.

As the three men pulled up to the restaurant, they all waited outside for the ladies to arrive. They all shook hands with Coach who showed up in a pair of grey slacks and a lighter grey dress shirt with a black tie, and then Ashley's dark red jeep pulled up.

It was like a cliche, slow-motion movie scene as the girls arrived.

Ellis couldn't stop staring at Zoey in her sleeveless pink cocktail dress.

Louis was blown away by Rochelle in her purple, one-shoulder dress, with a sequined strap and chiffon skirt.

And Nick. Nick thought he'd gone to hell and was now being oh so sweetly tortured at the sight of Ashley walking up in her slim red dress that went to just the edges of her shoulders, and then he realized yes, yes he _was_ dreaming, when she turned around to lock her car revealing a backless hole that reached just above her hips.

"Holy Hell." He breathed to himself as she walked up.

"Hi." She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling when they met his.

All he could do was stare back.

"Hey, where's that Francis at?" Coach frowned after a moment.

His question was answered by the sound of a motorcycle tearing through the quiet music that played from the restaurant speakers.

He smoothly whipped in and jumped off his bike, and to everyone's surprise, took the hand of a tall blonde in a silver cocktail dress, and began to near the rest of the group.

"What?" he shrugged as he walked up. "You didn't think I'd come dateless, did ya?"

Everyone laughed and went inside. It was the start of a great night, with even better friends.


	16. Chapter 16: Spill

The previous night had been great; everyone was dressed to the nines, having a good time with old friends, and meeting Francis' date, Melissa, who was kind of quiet, but she was very nice.

By the time the night ended for the group, Zoey's twisty updo was now laying on her shoulders as she had given up on it and pulled it down earlier, and Rochelle was slipping out of her heels in the parking lot and letting out a long, loud sigh of relief.

They were all just standing outside, talking and laughing, some of the last ones to leave, and then Nick pulled Coach aside.

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing, Coach?"

"What'cha mean, son?"

"I mean.." he sighed. "Being with Ashley."

"Well I don't see why that would be the wrong thing if no one's complaining." The larger man shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess.." Nick nodded and then turned to walk away.

Coach grabbed his shoulder. "What's bothering you, Nicolas?"

Nick thought for a moment, then exhaled sharply. "I dunno.. I just... Honestly, I never thought I would find someone after Caroline, and then when I found Ashley, I knew there was no way in Heaven or Hell that she would like me, but I mean, a man can try, huh?" Coach chuckled a little, but stayed serious.

"I just.. I really want her to believe that I've changed for good and this isn't some charade just to get her to like me, and.. I'm afraid she'll start having second thoughts about me soon.. or Rochelle will say something, I mean, she's known me longer, she's seen just how bad I can be." He sighed.

"Son," Coach started.

"Even_ I've_ started to not believe it's real, Coach."

The man just stared at him.

"Son, I believe it's only real if you make it. You shouldn't get yourself down with worrying about what could go wrong until it goes wrong; focus on how much better you could make it, whether something has gone wrong or not."

Nick was silent, head hanging, Coach's hand still on his shoulder.

"Nicolas, I've seen who you are, and where you've come from, and now I've seen you change for a girl, but I know that if something were to happen, you would take that change with you whether you apply it or not."

Nick raised his head to look at Coach.

"Thank you." He said so softly, and so deeply, it was almost a whisper.

Ashley chewed on her lip taking a moment to glance at Nick and Coach every now and then, hoping no one would notice. They'd been over there for a while and Nick didn't look happy..

_Is this about me?_ She thought. _Have I done something wrong?_

She tried to go back to the conversation with the rest of the group, laughing when the time called for it, but still not saying much of anything.

It was time to say goodnight; friends hugged each other tightly and gave a light comment to end the night with, couples kissed, some briefly, but everyone let out a 'whoop' when Louis grabbed Rochelle and kissed her right in the middle of the parking lot.

"YEAH, LOUIS!" Francis yelled, making everyone laugh.

Everyone said goodbye, told Melissa it was nice to meet her, and then Ashley noticed Nick was still standing off to the side, but she didn't want to say anything. She was torn; she felt like the problem was her, and that she had done something wrong, but she also felt hurt because it was something she felt he was hiding. She told herself both ways of thinking were wrong and to just let it go.

Louis and Ellis were talking to Coach, Francis was revving up his bike and speeding away with Melissa clinging to his back, and Zoey and Rochelle were making their way to Ashley's Jeep.

She jumped as the driver door she had opened moments ago closed shut, and turned to see Nick standing there, his hand on the car, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, hi." She blushed a little, but didn't smile.

"You looked absolutely gorgeous tonight." He smiled at her. "Which.. if I may say, you also looked hot as Hell, but I prefer the word beautiful over that statement.."

Now, she was full-on blushing and a small, nervous smile was making it's way to her lips, but then it faded.

"Hey, um.." she started nervously. "Are-.. is everything alright? I saw you talking to Coach earlier and.. you looked pretty upset."

"Uh, yeah.." he glanced over to Coach and the other two men, then turned back to Ashley. "Yeah, I'm fine. Fine, fine."

She wasn't buying it.

"I promise." He said softer, leaning towards her so that he was sure she'd believe him.

"Okay.. yeah." She shrugged, looking at the ground.

"Hey," he gently lifted her chin up. "You should smile; I really love how it looks on you."

She couldn't help but let the corners of her lips lift, if only a little.

"There you go." He grinned before kissing her.

She didn't want this kiss to end. Kissing him was something she'd been longing to do since they got home, maybe even before that, and now that it was slowly becoming a regular thing, she loved it. But there was something about this kiss, right now, that she didn't want to stop. Maybe it was because she felt like things really were okay when he kissed her, or maybe she forgot that there were ever any problems, for anyone, at all.

Or maybe she just really loved kissing him.

"Tongue! Tongue! Tongue!" They heard Rochelle's voice calling from the open window of the car, causing Nick to laugh, his smile breaking the kiss.

Ashley smiled at his laugh, and then shook her head. "I guess that's my cue."

"Yeah, I suppose." He said still laughing. "Goodnight." He gently kissed her cheek.

"Night." She gave a small, tired smile, which Nick did not comment on, but he wasn't going to forget about it.

He walked back to his car to take Louis and Ellis back home, but he was so caught up in his thoughts, and they were being so bipolar. Maybe there was hope for him and Ashley, but at the same time, what if there wasn't? He tried to shake them out of his head long enough to get the others home.

The whole drive back to Zoey's duplex, Ashley played along just perfectly. Rochelle was in the front seat, 'Here's To Never Growing Up' by Avril Lavigne was on the radio and the two girls were singing loudly, but as much as Ashley loved that song, she didn't feel like singing. Of course, she did anyway so that no one would say anything, but on the inside...

She didn't know what to feel.

They dropped Zoey off and waited until they were sure she was inside.

"Permission to jam?" Ashley turned to Rochelle.

"Knock yourself out." She laughed back.

Ashley punched a button to change the radio station and as if it had heard her speak those words, 'All I Want' by the band A Day To Remember came on the second her finger left the stereo.

'Yes', she mouthed to the ceiling before driving away, her and Rochelle singing the new song.

"Tonight was awesome." Rochelle said as she sat on one of the stools at Ashley's window counter.

The girls had both put their dresses away and changed into comfy clothes.

"Yeah, it was pretty fun." Ashley laughed as she filled a glass with ice from the freezer.

"I just.. I think that was the perfect start for me and Louis, 'cause I mean.. I want things to go slow, you know, like, how they should, but still..." Rochelle smiled to herself.

"So, tell me what's wrong, girl. Ain't nobody here but us."

Ashley was silent. "What do you mean?"

"I know something ain't right, you aren't actin' like yourself, and you looked upset earlier when Nick was talking to you."

"Well, yeah..." Ashley shrugged.

"Spill."

So Ashley did.


	17. Chapter 17: Ashley's Trip

**_One week later._**

"Zoey, I swear to God-"

"Well, maybe God believes you, but I can't."

"Come on, Zo.."

Zoey refused to look at him and just drove. Ellis just hung his head.

"Zoey," he said as they walked into Ashley's house. "I don't wanna leave like this."

"Well, then maybe you shouldn't have made that mistake, huh?"

"Whoa, hey, calm down kids, what's wrong?" Nick frowned walking in from the living room.

Zoey crossed her arms over her chest. "You would just defend him." She hissed at Nick.

"Okay, I hear angry voices." Ashley called over the balcony. The other three looked up at her.

"What's wrong, Zoey?" she descended the stairs.

Zoey told Ashley the story about how she and Ellis were driving and they stopped at a gas station. Ellis hopped out to pump gas, and Zoey had the windows down. There was a young woman, probably no older than 21 who was bent over in such a convenient position looking for something under her car, and Zoey caught Ellis staring at her. When she said something, all he said was "Sorry, I just thought she was hot."

"And then when I got upset his only defense was, "Well you didn't let me finish what I was saying about how lucky I am to have you!"!" she imitated Ellis' voice.

Ashley frowned. "That _is_ a sucky defense, Ellis."

Ellis was quiet, but then Nick stepped in.

"Well, hey, what if he meant it?"

Ashley turned to him. "Guys only say things like that when they know they've screwed up. They say it first if they mean it."

Nick frowned again. "I don't think that's entirely true, you're kind of hammering down on guys here."

"It _is_ true!" Zoey jabbed a finger towards Nick's face. "It absolutely is, and she has every right to do so to guys, they're all like that. I TOLD you Nick would defend him!"

Ashley now had her arms crossed. "So you're saying it's totally okay for Ellis to do that, just because in other areas, he's better than most guys?"

Nick paused. "No, I never said it was right, but y'all are being way too hard on him." He slapped a hand on Ellis' back. "Guys are guys, and girls are hot." He chuckled a little, making Ellis somewhat do the same.

"Well, excuse me, I do believe I should bring up what you said to me last week into play, huh."

Nick froze as his thoughts brought up exactly what she meant.

_"You looked absolutely gorgeous tonight." Nick smiled at Ashley. "Which.. if I may say, you also looked hot as Hell, but I prefer the word beautiful over that statement.."_

"Well, then you should know that we're gonna say and do things, 'cause guys screw up all the time, but we only mean it if we say it to you!" Why was he getting so defensive with her? He just shook his head.

"Then _say it to only us_!" Ashley and Zoey exclaimed at exactly the same time.

Zoey shook her head. "If we can't expect that from you, then why should you expect us to not get upset?" and she left with that. Ashley sighed and shook her head, and then followed Zoey up the stairs.

"Come on, Ellis." Nick took the younger man outside.

"I dunno, Nick, I think Ashley and Zoey were right.." Ellis had his hands in his pockets as he looked at the ground.

Nick wasn't entirely sure what to say at first, and then Ellis continued.

"I mean, I know I shouldn't've been lookin' and I shouldn't've said she was hot and I should've had a better defense for if I got in any trouble, but I didn't and now.. Zoey's mad."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Overalls. Everyone makes a mistake or two in the eyes of another person, and once the mistake is asked to be forgotten, it's up to the other person to grant forgiveness. She can't stay mad at you forever."

"Yeah, but then I got Ashley all mad at you.." Ellis looked up at the taller man, frowning.

Nick opened his mouth to speak and then sighed. "Don't worry about it, Ellis."

Just then the door opened and Zoey and Ashley walked out, Ashley carrying an overnight bag. The two men just looked at them confused.

Ashley slowed down. "I told you I'm leaving for a couple days.. remember."

"Oh, yeah, right." They mumbled and nodded.

Zoey put Ashley's bags in the trunk of her car while Ellis walked up to say bye.

"I'm sorry 'bout all this Ashley, and I hope you have a nice trip, wherever it is you're goin'." Ellis gave her a tight hug making her feel a little better inside, and then Nick spoke.

"Yeah, hey, where are you going?" he reached down and gently grabbed her hands.

She mustered up the best fake smile she could, only getting a half-smile as a result. "It's a secret."

"Uhh.. well, alrighty then." Nick shrugged. "I hope you have fun."

"Thanks."

He frowned. "Are you okay?" he spoke in a softer tone now, but it wasn't like Zoey and Ellis, who were now arguing by the car, were paying attention.

"Yeah." Ashley nodded, looking at Nick's shoes. "I'm fine."

He gently lifted her chin with his hand. "If you say so." He pressed his lips to hers once more, but unlike the other times, this was a bit more passionate, and had it been any other time, Ashley would have given twice as much passion back. But she just simply closed her eyes and told herself she was okay.

They broke off and he kissed her on the cheek softly. "I love you." He whispered before he pulled away from her ear.

"Ashley, we should go." Zoey said as she reached into the car to start the engine.

Ashley turned back to Nick, stretched up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek and then went to get into Zoey's car.

Ellis and Nick simply waved from the driveway as they drove away.

"You think she's goin' to someone's house? Or like.. like another state, or somethin'?"

"I don't know." Nick said, still staring at the road where the car had once been but was now out of sight.

"You think she's comin' back?" Ellis said softer now.

"I don't know." And those words drained all energy from Nick's body. Now, he just wanted to sleep, because something wasn't right, and Ashley wasn't there.

Ashley just wanted to sleep, too. She was silent in the car as she sat with her knees up to her chin, staring out the window.

"Hey," Zoey said as she gently brushed Ashley's arm. "I can stay with you if you want, you know it's not a problem."

"No." Ashley said, voice weak. "It's fine, Ellis needs you."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Not as much as you need me right now."

Ashley shook her head. "He would wonder where you are."

Zoey shrugged, but was silent for a moment. Then, she said, "Yeah, I supposed they _would_ go through withdrawals without any women there." She was hoping this comment would lighten the mood but Ashley just continued to silently stare out the window.

"At least can I walk you in?"

Ashley nodded as they walked up to the front door. Once she was in her room, and Zoey knew she wasn't alone, Zoey walked back to her car after giving Ashley a tight hug and telling herself not to cry.

But she couldn't help it, and a tear slid down her cheek as she got back in the car and left the parking lot of the hospital.

Where Ashley would stay for the next week.


	18. Chapter 18: The Hospital

Three days had passed since Zoey left Ashley at the hospital. She had gone to visit, every day, keeping it as 'down-low' as possible, but Nick and Francis were starting to say stuff.

"Come on, Zo, why is it so bad?" Francis frowned.

"It's not bad, like, what you're thinking bad.."

"Then why can't you tell us?" Nick threw his arms up.

He looked tired. He hadn't slept in two days. He just wanted to see Ashley.

"Look, just drop it." Zoey snapped, and then she stormed off to the back porch.

They were at Ashley's house, as Zoey would be staying there while Ashley was gone.

Nick silently slipped out onto the back porch to find Zoey.

She looked like she was going to cry, and Nick wanted to help, but Zoey had never really cared for him, even after all the apologies and how much he had changed.

"Hey," he said softly, coming up next to her. "You alright?"

She took a breath, but didn't say anything, and then she grabbed Nick's wrist and quickly pulled him through the house and to her car, hoping no one else would be outside.

"Can I ask what the hell is going on?" He said as she pushed him into the car.

She drove off and was quiet for a few minutes before she finally told Nick what was going on.

"She's sick."

"What?" Nick turned to Zoey, confused.

"Ashley. She's really sick. She's been this way for years."

Zoey explained to him how Ashley was born with asthma. When she was a baby, her lungs didn't work right and she almost suffocated at birth, but she made it. All her life she was told she could never run or do sports or anything and she had to take multiple inhalers just to keep breathing right, but she proved them all wrong. She would play sports with her friends all the time, go on bike rides, and of course Nick had already seen she could run.

"Last year was the problem, though."

Nick listened silently.

"She started having fainting spells, and getting dizzy all the time, and they figured it was linked to her asthma, so they did some tests and gave her medication to keep it under control until they got results, but they called her last week and told her that they can't tell what the source of the problem is and that they need to hospitalize her for at least a week."

Nick was speechless. "How.. how has she hid this for so long?"

"Determination and makeup." Zoey nodded once.

"Why didn't she tell me?" He asked softly.

Zoey sighed. "She didn't want you to worry. She said she felt she'd be bothering you with her problems."

Nick fell silent once more and they pulled up to the hospital.

Zoey led him to Ashley's room where she told him to wait outside while she went in first.

Nick could hear them talking inaudibly and then he heard Zoey say, "I brought you something." Before opening the door.

Nick slowly walked in the room, and Ashley's wide eyes lit up a little.

"Zo.."

"Ashley, you knew I needed to tell him." She cut her off.

Ashley just sighed. "Hey."

"Hey." Nick walked over to sit in a chair next to Ashley's bed as Zoey left the room. "How are you?"

"Uhh.." Ashley shrugged. "I'm okay.. I mean, aside from the bad reactions to the drugs and just being sick.. I'm okay."

"Just okay?"

"Well, definitely better now." She smiled weakly.

He smiled back and gently kissed her forehead.

"Ashley.."

She looked up at him.

"Why.. why didn't you tell me?"

Her eyes fell. "I didn't want you to have to worry about it all the time." She said after a moment of silence. "I didn't want to be a burden to anyone. Zoey just already knew."

"Ashley, it wouldn't bother me at all. Yes, I would worry, but that's because I care."

She was silent, and Nick just slid his hand around hers and held it tight.

"I'm sorry, Nick." She whispered.

"It's okay." He squeezed her hand.

Then a nurse wearing pale blue scrubs and a cheerful expression walked in.

"Ashley Haner?" she poked her head around the wall to see if Ashley was awake.

"Oh, hi there, you aren't Zoey, are you." The nurse chuckled as Nick stood up. "I'm Elena, Ashley's main nurse."

He extended a hand towards her. "Nick."

Nick always hated doctors and whatnot, but he liked this nurse. She was nice, and she wasn't running around pretending to be overly happy. She was just herself. She was about twenty-six, maybe older, and she had soft, kind eyes.

"Ashley, this medicine is supposed to kind of.. prep you for testing, I guess, but it's also gonna put you to sleep. When you wake up, we'll take you to run the tests, alright?"

Ashley nodded.

Then, Nick noticed a small girl by the doorway. She was about five years old, she wore a pink and yellow hospital gown, and in her hands was a white teddy bear that looked strangely familiar to Nick.

He didn't say anything, and the little girl just stared at him from behind the teddy bear's head.

"Ashley?" she mumbled quietly into the bear's back.

"Hey, sweetie!" Ashley noticed the girl in the doorway. "Come here, you." The girl skipped over to the other side of Ashley's bed and climbed up into her lap.

Then she continued to stare at Nick.

"How cute." Elena smiled. "You're good to go, Ashley." And then she left.

The little girl leaned over and whispered something into Ashley's ear, and Ashley laughed.

"This is Nick." She said.

"Hi, Nick." The girl said quietly, no longer talking into the bear.

"Hi." Nick chuckled and waved.

"Nick, this is Emily." Ashley told him. "She's my friend."

Emily nodded. "Ashley used to come visit me in the hospital all the time, but now she got sick so I want to come visit her."

Ashley smiled.

"Aw, well, that's very sweet of you." Nick said to Emily. "You don't look sick, though."

"I have cancer." Emily nodded.

In that moment, Nick wanted to throw up and disappear all at the same time.

Ashley saw the color drain from his face and she frowned.

"Ashley, can I come back and see you later? I have to go eat lunch now." Emily turned to Ashley.

"Well, sure thing, sweetie! If I'm not here just tell the nurses you came by, alright?"

"Okay." Emily beamed.

"Muah!" Ashley kissed her on the cheek and the small girl giggled before sliding off the bed and heading to the door.

"Goodbye, Nick!" She called from the doorway behind the wall.

"Nick.." Ashley placed her hand on his when Emily left.

He snapped out of his trance and looked at her. "Hm?"

Her eyes were wide and worried. "Are you okay?"

No response.

"Nick?"

"Oh, uh.. yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just.. Yeah."

Ashley frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah... It's just.. my mom died from cancer."

Ashley's face looked as if he had just told her _she_ had cancer.

"Nick, I'm so sorry." She said so softly it was almost inaudible.

He nodded a little and then smiled. "Don't be."

She wanted to, but she just couldn't bring herself to smile back.

"You look tired." She told him.

"Yeah.. I kinda haven't slept in two days.. but hey, you're the one that's supposed to be conkin' out, eh?"

She laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess."

"And you look tired."

She made a face. "Thanks, Nick."

"No, No, I didn't mean it like that!"

She laughed. "I'm just playing." And then she yawned.

"You should sleep."

She sat there for a moment looking at her hands, and then she looked up at him with tired, dreary eyes. "Stay with me?"

He smiled. "Sure thing, honey."


	19. Chapter 19: Surprises

"Hey, she's awake!"

Ashley blinked her eyes sleepily to see Ellis standing next to her bed. Then she jumped a little when she noticed the room was full of people; Francis, Louis, Coach, heck, everyone was there.

"Umm.."

"I'm SO sorry." Zoey was on the other side of her bed.

Ashley was confused on so many levels. She just stared at everyone.

"Zoey is apologizing for telling everyone where you were and everything because then they all had to come see you, and Ellis, well, Ellis is just happy you're awake." Nick explained.

Ashley nodded slowly.

"How ya feelin', honey?" Nick said softer, now kneeling next to Ashley.

"I'm okay.. Just tired." And then she began a coughing fit which cause everyone to scramble back a little because they didn't know what to do, except Zoey.

Zoey grabbed a rubber mask and slipped it over Ashley's head, and then pushed a button on a machine that made a soft humming noise. Ashley's fit began to die down and Zoey laid her head back down on her pillow. She slowly closed her eyes and took deep breaths of the gas coming from the breathing mask. Everyone just watched.

Moments later, Ashley slid the mask down so it hung around her neck. "You guys didn't all have to come see me." She said.

"But we wanted to!" Ellis cheered.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we?" Francis asked.

Ashley just smiled tiredly. "You guys are the best."

They all smiled back.

"Oh yeah!" Ellis exclaimed. "We all got ya some stuff."

He ran over to the door and pulled a small cart in. Ashley's eyes widened; three vases full of roses (her favorite flower), each a different color, two heart balloons, one circle balloon that said 'Get Well Soon!', and her favorite pillow from her bedroom.

She kind of wanted to cry, honestly. She had the best friends ever.

"You guys.." She breathed.

They all smiled back, Ellis grinning the biggest.

Then there was a short knock at the door and a doctor stepped in.

"Whoa!" He chuckled. "You're pretty popular today, hm, Miss Haner?"

Ashley laughed. "Garrett, we talked about this! I don't care who's around, you have to call me Ashley!"

The doctor laughed. "Alright, alright."

"This is Garrett." Ashley pointed to the man. "We were friends a while back. He's also my doctor. Obviously."

"Hi, Garrett." Everyone waved.

He waved back and then turned to Ashley. "So, how are you feeling today? Side effects from the meds kinda worn off?"

Ashley made a face followed by a hand gesture. "I'm okay, they kinda wore off, but you know.."

Garrett nodded. "Well, I just needed to check your vitals and your lungs; think you can sit up?"

Ashley sat up straight as he moved his stethoscope over her chest, stomach, and back, every now and then asking her to take a deep breath.

"Well," he said pulling the stethoscope out of his ears. "You sound normal to me."

"Normal?" Ashley laughed.

"Oh, you know what I meant. I'll come back later this evening to check on you, page Elena if you need anything."

They high-fived and then he left.

"He was nice." Ellis randomly stated causing Ashley to laugh a little.

They all sat, stood, or kneeled around Ashley's bed, and just talked; about Ashley, about how Francis hates hospitals, and doctors, and lawyers, about whatever. Ashley smiled more and she really was happy to have her friends there for her. One by one, they had to leave as time passed until it was just Ashley, Zoey, Ellis, and Nick.

Zoey apologized and said she was tired and was to go home, and Ellis hesitantly asked if he could ride with her as his original ride had already left, the problem being, Zoey hadn't really officially accepted his apologies.

She shrugged and said "Sure.", not in a mean way, but not in a cheerful way either.

Then it was just Nick.

She looked up at him and he gave a tired smile.

"Have you still not been sleeping?"

He shrugged innocently and laughed a little. "Not much.

She frowned.

"What?"

"You need sleep!"

He laughed.

"I'm serious, Nick!"

"Alright, alright. Can I stay with you, though?"

She thought for a second.

"Sure thing, honey." She winked at him and he laughed as he walked over to the sofa across the room to lie down, and he almost instantly fell asleep.

Then the door opened, and shut, and Emily and her white Teddy bear padded across the room and hopped up onto Ashley's bed.

"I can't sleep." She said.

"Aww, what's wrong, hon?"

Emily frowned. "They gave me my sleepy medicine but I can't sleep."

Ashley knew exactly what she felt; when they gave you drugs to put you to sleep, you felt horrible inside if you couldn't fall asleep. It was the worst.

"Can I sleep in your bed? I already told Miss Elena."

Ashley smiled. "Of course, Em."

The small girl curled up next to Ashley and fell asleep almost as fast as Nick did. Ashley soon found herself getting tired and, moments later, the room was occupied by three sleeping people.

About three hours later, Nick woke up to the sound of the door opening, and opened his eyes to see Elena coming through the door pulling a cart full of food.

"Aww." She softly said to herself at the sight of Emily and Ashley sleeping.

Nick smiled as he followed her gaze.

"Oh-!" she jumped and clasped her hand over her mouth as she turned and saw Nick behind her.

He laughed a little. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She laughed back.

They shared a silent smile and then Nick's face slowly fell. "Can I ask you something?"

Elena nodded.

"Is she going to be okay? I mean.. I know she's not really in like, critical condition, but.."

She sighed. "I can't really predict the future, I'm sorry."

Nick nodded and looked down at his feet.

"But hey," he looked back up at Elena as she spoke. "she's super lucky to have a guy like you by her side all the time." She smiled and walked out, leaving Nick smiling to himself as he thought about what she had just said.

Just then, Ashley began to stir in the bed and woke up, slowly blinking.

"Hey." Nick chuckled.

"Hi." She yawned back and smiled. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"I actually did." He nodded. "And you?"

She nodded. "It was okay."

"Nice hair." He winked at the strands that were pressed against one side of her face, and the others that were sticking up above them.

She blushed and slowly pulled her arm out from under Emily, being careful not to wake her, and combed her hair back down with her fingers.

"That's really cute, you know."

"What?"

Nick nodded towards Emily who had her arms wrapped around Ashley and her teddy bear.

"Oh." She blushed a little, once more. "Yeah, she's a sweetie." She gently combed Emily's hair with her fingers.

"Oh, yeah," Nick stood and turned to the cart Elena had brought in. "You should eat."

He pushed it towards her bed, and she simply made a face and shrugged.

"What, not hungry?"

"Not really." She shook her head. "I just don't feel like eating.. I just.. I feel.."

And then Ashley slumped over on the bed, _unconscious._


	20. Chapter 20: Hayden

No more visitors. That's what the sign on the door of Ashley's hospital room read, and those were the last words Nick had heard before that door was shut in his face, and the small hand of Emily reached up into his and squeezed tight.

But he didn't dare leave the hospital.

He hadn't seen Garrett for two days now, only Elena, who was not allowed in Ashley's room for the time being. She told him that he could stay in an empty room if he wanted, and he did, but he didn't sleep, and now it was taking a toll on him.

"Nick, you really don't look so good.." Ellis frowned at the pale, tired face of the man who had his cheek resting in one of his palms.

Nick didn't respond.

"Hey, Nick.." Rochelle tapped him on the shoulder.

He didn't say anything, but he turned and looked up at her.

"You should really go home and sleep."

He resumed his original position without word.

"Son," Coach now stepped in. "You're gonna get sick, and that's the last thing we need is someone else endin' up in a worser state than normal."

"You think I stay up on purpose?" Nick snapped at anyone who was listening. "I _can't_ sleep."

"Nick." He heard his name, and he expected it would be someone telling him to calm down, but it came from the door.

It was Elena.

He quickly stood up and followed her motion to come.

She walked quickly and spoke softly and he tried his best to keep up.

"Ashley isn't supposed to have any visitors till at least.. eh, about three days from now, but I got you in a little time.." She stopped as they reached the door and she turned to face him as if she was going to speak.

"What?"

She just sighed and shook her head before removing herself from the doorway, and he slowly walked in.

He heard a cough before he emerged from behind the wall, and Ashley oh so weakly smiled at him when he came into her view.

"Hey, you." Her voice cracked when she spoke.

He wanted to throw his arms around her. He wanted to run. He wanted to _cry_. But she was strong; even in a time like this, she smiled and she ignored the things such as the fact that she was in a hospital bed, and so on.

"Hey." He slowly moved to the chair next to her bed. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know," she coughed. "I'm alive."

He nodded. "That's definitely good."

She flashed him the same weak smile as before, but he couldn't return it.

"Hey," she gently placed an IV restricted hand on his cheek. "I'm gonna be okay."

He closed his eyes and gently held her hand on his face.

_This, Nick. This is why you don't get attached to anything. _He shuddered slightly as the chilling voice came into his head. He didn't want to hear it.

Ashley told him why she wasn't allowed to have visitors, and what had happened the day she had fainted, why it was different from all the other times, about the tests they had done, the medicines she had, all of everything.

Nick told her about staying at the hospital, not sleeping, how much everyone missed her, and things that everyone had said in her absence.

"Ellis, poor kid, he just wants to give you a hug."

"Aww." She smiled again.

Was something tricking Nick, or did he really see more life in this one than the first ones?

He locked his eyes on hers. "I wish we could get out of here."

"I know.. believe me."

He laughed a little, but then his smile faded.

"I really am going to be okay." She told him. "And even if I'm not, things still will be."

He wanted to tell her not to say that, but all he could do was look up with a hurt expression.

"But really, I'm gonna be fine."

He gently kissed her on the forehead and she leaned back and closed her eyes.

Nick was silent while she rested; he kept his hand in hers and he tried to keep his thoughts from going downhill.

"Nick." She mumbled after twenty minutes, or so.

"Hm?"

"Just wondering if you were still there."

"Of course."

Then she sat up, took a deep breath, and let it all out. "My gosh, I'm so tired."

He chuckled shortly.

"Which reminds me.." She turned her eyes to him.

"Ashley, I'm not leaving."

She just stared for a moment, looked down at the bed, and then back up.

"Nick," she said calmly. "The last thing I need is you getting sick, too."

He just stared back into her eyes.

"Please. Just for today, tonight."

He still didn't flinch.

"Go home, get some sleep, I'm sure they'll let you come back in the morning."

His tired eyes blinked slowly.

"I promise."

Then he sighed. "Anything for you."

She smiled, and this time there was no doubt in Nick's entire being that this smile had grown to be more lively, and at the same time, it made him more lively too.

"Get better." He squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead before walking out.

He didn't return to the room with the others. He simply told Elena to tell them he went home and was not to be bothered, for Ellis' sake, and he'd be back in the morning.

He was so tired, that he actually slept that night. The _whole_ night. There were no dreams about Caroline, either. And when he woke up at 12:46 the next day, he felt great.

He returned to the hospital to find that Ashley was responding to her new medication and would be able to be released the next day if they could balance her out on a new inhaler. Everyone was allowed back in the room, and things were starting to look up.

"Ashley Haner, please?"

Francis heard the words of a young woman at the front desk, and whirled around.

"612." The desk clerk told her.

She had dark brown hair, a black jacket that slouched over a blue t-shirt, and skinny jeans, and Francis could not explain why he was so intrigued.

"Hey," he called to her as she passed by.

"Yeah?" she spun around to face him.

She was somewhat short, probably a little shorter than Ashley, around Rochelle's height; just under his nose.

"Are you looking for Ashley Haner?"

"Yeah.." she narrowed her eyes and spoke slower. "Why?"

"Oh, uh," he stuttered a little, for the first time in his life. "She's a friend of mine, and I was just wondering."

"Oh." The girl nodded. "Walk me to her room?" She asked with a smirk.

And he did just that.

When they arrived, nothing but shrieks (and softer, broken shrieks from Ashley) filled the room.

"Freaking Hayden!"

"Freaking Ashley!"

The dark haired girl pushed past Nick to get to her hospitalized friend.

"Oh, HELL no."

Hayden turned to see Nick standing behind her, finger pointed in her direction.

"Hey, Nicky." She smirked.

He rolled his eyes and slumped into his chair now pushed back into a corner.

"Hey, Hayden!" Rochelle waved.

"Oh my gosh, Rochelle! Hell, you're all here! What is this!" Hayden exclaimed as she hugged Rochelle, then moved to Coach, lastly pulling Ellis into a strong embrace.

"Zoey, Francis, Louis; this is Hayden, she's been my best friend for God only knows how long." Ashley gestured from the bed, smiling.

"Hi, all." Hayden waved. "Oh, hey, yeah, I think I remember meeting you once." She nodded and pointed to Zoey.

"Probably so." Zoey nodded. "My memory sucks."

"So, anyway, how are y-" Hayden whirled back around to face Ashley, and then froze as her jaw dropped at the sight of Ashley's hand in Nick's.

"What?" Ashley's eyes widened.

"No, no, no," a smirk began to break on Hayden's lips. "You and _this guy_?" she playfully jabbed a finger at Nick, who frowned.

Ashley laughed. "Yeah, me and this guy. So, hey, um, clear up how the two of you met for me?"

Hayden laughed.

"She traveled with us for a while. It was before we met you." Nick said emotionlessly. And then with full emotion, he suddenly exclaimed, "And I swear to GOD she put me through _hell_!"

Hayden laughed again. "Oh, Nick. Hey, but I really am happy for you, bro." She shot a sweet smile in his direction, and his look softened with a nod.

Ashley laughed. "I just can't believe you really came!"

The long-lost friend Ashley never thought she'd see again, but recently heard from.

And the girl Francis couldn't take his eyes away from.


	21. Chapter 21: Best Friends

"So, wait, wait, wait.." Rochelle threw her hands up. "What about Melissa?"

Francis shrugged. "She was smokin' but something about us just didn't work. She said she found someone else, anyway."

"And now you're going after Hayden?" Nick half stated, half asked.

Francis thought for a moment, then shrugged again. "I wouldn't call it 'going after' her, but I guess so.."

Zoey watched him with narrowed eyes, a smirk on her face.

"What?"

The smirk grew into a smile. "You know what."

"No, I don't." Francis shook his head.

Zoey just shrugged, the content smirk still on her face.

Nick's phone rang. "Hello?.. Oh yeah, sure thing... No.. I'm really not.. Ashley.. Ashley, I promise" he laughed. "I'll be there soon, okay? Okay.. bye." He slipped the phone back into his pocket. "I'm gonna go pick Ashley up."

They all nodded and said 'bye' as he walked out the door to his car.

He sat on the end of the bed while Ashley slipped into the bathroom to change back into her regular clothes, and when she came out, a smile broke across his face.

"What?" she laughed.

He just winked at her and grabbed her hand as they left the hospital room.

After all the tests, tubes, and trays of food she hardly touched, the passenger seat of Nick's black Ford Fusion felt like home.

Once they arrived at her house, everyone was there to greet her. They all gave her warm hugs and welcomed her home. She sat down on the couch as Nick carried her things upstairs and set them down by her bedroom door.

"Good to be home?" Coach asked.

"Oh, YES." Ashley sighed as she fell over onto the couch making everyone laugh. "I'm soo tired."

"Aww, well, hey, we can all git outta here 'n stuff so you can sleep." Ellis shrugged.

Ashley laughed. "You're fine, Ellis."

"Move your head, you hoe!" Hayden playfully snapped at Ashley as she lifted her head and sat on the couch.

Ashley looked up at Hayden from her lap. "You know what, Hayden, you don't have to be such a slut all the time. Okay? Okay."

Hayden and Ashley laughed, and then laughed even harder when they saw the confused looks on everyone's faces.

"We're just playing." Ashley shook her head.

"Yeah," Hayden laughed. "We've always been like that."

Ashley said that it was mandatory everyone stay for dinner, but when she got up to go to the kitchen Rochelle pushed her back down.

"No, no, no, missy." She pointed a finger in Ashley's face. "You're not goin' anywhere."

"Well, how the heck'm I supposed to make everyone dinner?"

"You're not." Rochelle grinned. "Mama Rochelle's cookin' tonight!"

Coach whooped and Rochelle danced her way into the kitchen to start something.

In the meantime, everyone else sat in the living room and talked, and Ellis and Nick went to get more chairs and a table extender to add to the dining room table. Ashley lay on the couch, head still in Hayden's lap, happy to be home, and Coach and Louis sat at the bar counter talking to Rochelle as she cooked dinner.

Rochelle announced that dinner was served about an hour later and she and Louis began to place plates of food on the dining room table.

Ellis whooped, Nick exclaimed a "Yes!", Francis called out, "Hell yeah!", and Ashley just laughed.

"Now, y'all," Coach said from the head of the table. "I don't care who ya sittin' next to; grab a hand so we can say Grace."

Ashley extended hands to Francis and Nick, Ellis laughed when he grabbed the hand of Nick, who just rolled his eyes, Zoey blushed when Ellis gently reached for her hand and then placed her small fingers within Coach's, Coach grabbed the hand of Rochelle, who was already holding hands with Louis, Louis and Hayden simply nodded at each other when they grabbed hands, but then Hayden found herself blushing a bit as Francis hesitantly slid his fingers between hers, and then they all lowered their heads.

"Father God," Coach spoke solemnly. "Thank you for these people that I have joined hands with, and thank you for this food that is now set before us. Thank you for Ashley's safe return home, Father; we know that you were with her in her time or sickness. Bless us and keep us, Father. Amen."

"Amen." Francis and Ellis echoed.

"Let's eat, y'all." Coach smiled as everyone reached for a plate and then passed it to their neighbor.

It could have been Thanksgiving dinner by the looks of the group of people and the amounts of food, but no one cared what they called it; it was simply a perfect night of talking, catching up with Hayden, Ellis swallowing hard before spurting out the words 'Hey, did I ever tell y'all about the time me and my buddy Keith', and_ everyone_ laughing when Nick shot him a look.

When the night was over and everyone was stuffed, they gave their compliments to Rochelle the chef and said their goodbyes, except Hayden who Ashley had announced would be staying with her tonight, and that it was not up for discussion. Hayden just laughed.

Hayden and Nick sat in Ashley's living room while Ashley was upstairs.

"So, Nick," Hayden started, already smirking in his direction.

He didn't say anything, but raised his eyebrows.

"You and Ashley."

He turned his head sideways a bit. "What about us, Hayden?" He seemed to spit a bit of venom into her name as he spoke it.

She smiled, genuinely. "Y'all are really cute together, and I'm glad to see you both happy."

He couldn't help but smile back, a little. "Thanks."

"You know," she leaned forward onto her knees. "You've changed, Nick. A lot."

He shrugged. "Is that bad if I have?"

She shook her head. "No, I like this new you. You're happy."

He smiled and nodded a little, and then thought to himself _'Funny how she didn't say anything mean'_.

"And you're not a huge dick."

_There it is._ His smile turned to a frown as his eyebrows did the same.

"Oh, yeah?" He snapped." Well, thanks, Hayden, you're not such a bi-"

"Hey, hey, hey, kids, let's play nice, shall we?" Ashley had come back downstairs just in time.

"I was just joking, Nick." Hayden laughed.

Nick rolled his eyes and got up to leave. Ashley met him by the door and he slid his arms around her waist as she threw hers around his neck. Hayden just watched from the living room.

"Are you sure you don't need anything before I go?"

Ashley laughed. "I'm fine, and I've got Hayden with me."

Nick glanced at Hayden briefly and sneered.

"Hey," Ashley pouted. "Be nice."

"I'm just joking, sweetheart." He kissed her nose and laughed when she wrinkled her face.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

She shrugged and then smiled. "Sooner or later."

He smiled back, and then leaned in to kiss her.

He held her close, but gently, kissing her softly, but passionately.

They finally broke apart, and Nick said goodnight and stole a kiss on her cheek before walking out the open door.

Ashley stood and watched him drive away, but then the moment was broken by a shout from the living room.

"What the HELL."

Ashley jumped and turned to see Hayden leaned over the back of the couch from where she had been watching the two lovebirds.

Ashley turned and shut the door and locked it. "What?"

"You and Nick!"

"What?"

"Y'all are so cute, I can't even handle it. Seriously." Hayden fell back on the couch.

Ashley just blushed.

Then Hayden popped back up. "And now we have GIRL TIME!" She squealed.

Ashley jumped up and down and then the two girls ran upstairs to Ashley's room as if they were seventeen once again, having sleepovers and talking about whatever.


	22. Chapter 22: New Beginnings 'n Bad Dreams

"ASHLEY!"

Ashley groaned hearing her name yelled, yet again, only this time, it was louder.

"Yes?" She called back as sweetly as she could at this point.

She poked her head out to see Hayden leaning over the balcony, laughing, and Nick standing downstairs, looking up at her, fuming.

"How the _hell_ did she even get that?!" Nick jabbed his finger towards Hayden.

She was leaned over the balcony dangling his somewhat white suit coat over the edge.

"Oh my gosh, y'all are just like little kids." She shook her head as she walked up and snatched the coat away from Hayden, threw it on her bed, and shut the door.

Nick grumbled something and walked into the living room, and Hayden trotted down the stairs.

"Hey, babe-" Ashley started.

"Yeah?" Nick called from the living room.

"Oops." Ashley laughed. "I meant Hayden."

Now, Hayden was laughing, too. "Yeah?"

"Could you put a shirt on? I mean, you're a hottie for days, but.." She jerked her head in the direction of the living room where Nick was.

Hayden cursed. "I totally forgot I was shirtless!" She looked down at her body, clad in only basketball shorts and a sports bra top.

Nick coughed out the word 'whore' from the living room, and Ashley stormed out to the other side of the balcony to where he could see her, shot him a look, and then went to get a shirt for Hayden.

"Could you grab my other top, too?"

"Sure thing." Ashley called down the stairs as she grabbed the blue bra.

"I'll just slip in here to change." Hayden said taking her clothes and slipping into the guest room.

Ashley went to the living room to scold Nick for not being Nice.

Then, there was a knock at the front door.

"Come in!" Ashley called before returning her attention to Nick.

"Hey, Ash?" Francis called to her walking in. "I left my jacket here last night, just came to pick it up."

"Hey, Francis, that's fine, I'll be there in a sec. You can go ahead and grab it."

Francis nodded and turned to the door of the guest room where he had laid his jacket last night. He grabbed the door handle, and once he had opened the door, his eyes popped, jaw hitting the floor.

Hayden.

Ashley hadn't paid attention to the fact that she went in the room to change, nor the fact that the room she was in was where Francis left his jacket.

She was only half-clothed, in a bra and her basketball shorts and she was pulling a shirt over her head, clearly not noticing that Francis had opened the door, but in the quick seconds that seemed to last forever, Francis took in her slim stomach that was just as tan as the rest of her.

_Gosh, she's gorgeous._ He thought. And then his eyes traveled towards her hip, and locked on what he found there; a heart. It was a blue and black tattoo that had smooth lines trailing in and out of it, in front of and behind it, and Francis became even more intrigued when he realized he could only see half, but he quickly and quietly slipped out before Hayden noticed he'd been standing there the whole time.

He sighed a heavy sigh of relief and then collected himself before heading towards the living room.

"Hey," Ashley smiled looking up at him. "Weren't you gonna get your jacket?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am." He nodded, and then realized he needed to cover when Ashley and Nick gave him confused looks. "Thought I'd come say hi first, and grab the jacket on my way out." He said as smoothly as possible before leaning in to shake hands with Nick.

"Oh." Ashley shrugged. "Okay."

Francis half-jumped when Hayden walked up beside him, this time wearing a shirt.

"Hey.." he said trying so hard not to get lost in her big, blue eyes.

"Hey, yourself." She blushed a little before walking over to sit on the smaller sofa.

"Anyway," Francis shook himself out of his trance.

Ashley just smiled back.

"I gotta run, so thanks for letting me swing by."

"No problem." Ashley hopped up to give him a hug and he grabbed his jacket from the now unoccupied guest room and walked out the door shaking his head and muttering something about pulling himself together.

"Well." Ashley said turning back to the living room where she found Nick staring at Hayden, confused, and Hayden staring at the door Francis just walked out of. They waited for her to snap back to reality.

"Hm? What?" Hayden looked at both of them as if they had called her.

Nick busted out laughing. "You like Grease Monkey!"

"Nick!" Ashley snapped at him.

He tried to calm his laughter. "Sorry, sorry. Oh Gosh, this is too good.."

Hayden's face had turned a deep shade of pink like never before.

"Aww," Ashley said realizing Nick was right. "You _do_ like Francis."

Hayden looked down but couldn't help but smile. "Maybe.. just a little.."

Ashley smiled and gave her a look.

"What?" Hayden laughed innocently. "It's the tattoos! I've never cared for sleeves, but DANG he makes them look good!"

Ashley just laughed. _I need to get them together sometime._ She thought to herself.

And that's exactly what she did two days later.

"Why am I getting dressed up, again?" Francis groaned, standing in the middle of Ashley's living room in a pair of jeans that did _not_ have holes or grease stains on them, and a nice, button-down shirt.

"Because you have a date." Ashley reminded him.

"Right.. wait, with who?" Francis suddenly became concerned as if this was the first he heard of it.

Ashley just smirked to herself and then spun Francis around as Hayden came walking in from upstairs.

She had on skinny jeans, as usual, but now she was wearing a pair of black wedge heels, and a lacy blue sleeveless shirt that complimented the color of Francis'.

She blushed as she walked up and found him staring at her. "Hi."

"Hey, yourself." Francis smirked a bit.

Hayden laughed. No, Hayden _giggled._ She felt insanely stupid for the way she was acting and the way she was dressed but she stopped caring once her feelings for Francis took over and Ashley sent them out the door hand in hand.

She could hear them talking from outside the door.

"You ever been on a motorcycle before?"

"Um, no.. but it sounds exciting."

Francis laughed. "Oh, you just wait."

Then there was the revving of the bike, and Hayden squealing as it took off.

Ashley smiled at the thought of Hayden on a motorcycle, her arms around Francis, and a big smile on his face.

"Finally!" She said out loud as she ran up the stairs to her room.

It was the first time she'd been alone when she actually wanted to be, and all she wanted to do was sleep, even though it was only 7:30.

Soon after she laid her head on her pillow, she found herself drifting off into a nice sleep, but her dreams had other plans for her.

_She didn't have time to move before the hunter pounced onto her._

_"Ahh!" she screamed as its nails made their way through her shirt._

_But there was no one around._

_She had gone ahead of the group to find Nick who had stormed off shortly after yelling at her about not belonging with them and tearing the group apart. Would he ever like her?_

_She didn't find him, but instead, a hunter found her , and there was no one near to help her._

_"Nick!" She screamed, trying to free her head so she could look for him as she kicked at the hunter._

_Then she was able to see,_

_and she saw him,_

_and she heard a gunshot,_

_..._

_and Nick's lifeless body dropped to the ground._

_"Nick!" she screamed as loud as she ever had._

_Finally, she kicked the hunter hard enough to free herself and despite her wounds, she ran, sprinted towards Nick._

_"Nick!" she breathed as she dropped to the ground next to him._

_But it was too late._

_There was nothing but a patch of blood and a bullet hole where his formerly beating heart was._

_His lifeless, foggy, ice blue eyes stared blankly at the dark skies of the swamp._

_He had been shot,_

_and now, Ashley wished it was her instead._


	23. Chapter 23: Investments and Intellect

It had been a month. A month since Hayden Loughlin showed up, a month since Ashley returned from the hospital, and a month since her dream. She hadn't told anyone, especially Nick, about the horrid nightmare she'd had, and the entire past month has consisted of light sleeps that were constantly interrupted as she feared she would had the same experience again, or even nights without any sleep. The advantage of being a girl, however, was makeup; her key to hiding it better than Nick had, as the bags under his eyes were visible, among other signs he failed to conceal.

Francis and Hayden had gone on a date that night, which went exceptionally well, and were now occasionally spotted holding hands when they were together.

It had officially been six months since Nick had laid eyes on Ashley, but to Nick, it felt like an eternity.

Five-and-a-half months since Rochelle met Louis, and since Ellis met Zoey.

One month since Francis met Hayden.

Needless to say it had been a very eventful six months, not to mention the two months before that when the four original survivors had met on the roof of a flaming hotel, seeking the same rescue helicopter. But two nights ago, something had hit Nick, when he was in the backseat of Ashley's jeep.

_"Here." Ashley handed Hayden her phone as she drove._

_"Yessss.." Hayden began to scroll through the list of Ashley's songs._

_Nick was in the back, head leaned over the seat, eyes closed._

_"No way!" _

_Nick frowned and opened his eyes at Hayden's exclamation, and thought about jabbing a comment at her, but he refrained._

_"I can't believe you still have this song!" She tapped the screen of Ashley's phone and the song 'Just A Dream' by Nelly came on._

_The two girls sang along in the front seat._

**_I was thinkin' 'bout her, thinkin' 'bout me, thinkin' 'bout us; who we gon' be_**

**_Opened my eyes; It was only just a dream_**

**_..._**

**_Now she's found her a replacement_**

**_I swear now, I can't take it, knowin' somebody's got my baby._**

**_Now you ain't around, baby, I can't think_**

**_I shoulda put it down, shoulda got that ring_**

_Something about the words made Nick think. It was a simply hip hop song about a relationship between a guy and a girl, and the girl realizes she should move on to someone else, and when she does so, the guy is left hurt, regretting that he didn't do enough to keep her by his side._

And that one night had Nick in a state for the next couple days. He couldn't help but wonder if something like that could happen with him and Ashley.

"I just can't stand to lose her.." he said staring off into the distance.

He was sitting on Ashley's back porch with Francis and Ellis.

"I don't think that's something you've gotta worry about, friend." Francis shrugged before taking a swig of his beer.

"Yeah, Nick." Ellis agreed cheerfully. "It's like you 'n' Ashley was made for each other."

Nick was still staring blankly at nothing.

"Hey, Nick." Francis nudged him, causing him to turn his attention to the biker. "I really do think you're worrying about nothin', bro. Ashley loves you, and you love her. I don't see any problems." He took another sip of beer, as did Ellis.

Nick looked down at his glass of water and sighed before walking back inside. Francis and Ellis just shrugged at each other.

Nick was in the kitchen dumping the remains of his water in the sink when Ashley came up.

"Hey, you." She smiled sweetly, something that always made Nick smile back.

"Hey."

She kissed him on the cheek and then frowned when he seemed to just stare into the sink.

"What's wrong, Nick?" She said softly, concerned eyes looking up to find his.

He continued to stare at the cold, stainless steel, hands braced onto the counter, and then he shook his head. "Nothin', babe."

Ashley was silent but she knew inside that it wasn't nothing. She just walked outside onto the back porch to join Francis and Ellis, trying her best to hide that it affected her.

Nick just stood silently in the kitchen, watching them through the glass door as no one seemed to notice, until his thoughts got the best of him.

He shook his head and swore under his breath before snatching his car keys off the counter.

Moments later, Hayden walked out onto the back porch.

"Hey." She smiled, standing behind Francis. "Um.. hey, Ashley? Where's Nick goin'?"

Ashley frowned. "What do you mean?" Then her eyes turned to the kitchen where he no longer stood.

"He was getting in his car when I pulled up and he totally blew me off when I said hi.." Hayden shrugged.

Ashley quickly got up and went into the house. Sure enough, his keys were missing from the counter, but he had left his phone.

"Crap.." she breathed. She considered going after him but she had no idea where to start. His apartment, maybe? But then she thought that he would have taken his phone, or told her. She just slumped onto the couch, feeling hurt, helpless, and like Nick was hiding something from her. She laid down and tried to clear her head before she drifted off into her first deep sleep since the nightmare.

"Alright, you two love birds," Ellis leaned onto the table towards Francis and Hayden who was seated upon the biker's lap. "When are y'all gonna call it official?" he grinned.

Hayden blushed and looked down at her hands with a shrug and a smile.

"Now." Francis smiled back at Ellis, then up at Hayden, who blushed even more when he kissed her cheek for the very first time.

"Now that's just too cute." Ellis let out a goofy laugh.

Meanwhile, across town, Nick had gone to seek out Coach.

"It's a commitment, Nicolas, not _just_ an investment."

"I know!" Nick snapped, frustrated. "Why do you think I came to you?"

"Calm down, son." Coach motioned to the sofa across from the recliner he sat in.

Nick sat down and buried his face in his palms.

"Have you thought long and hard about this?"

"Yes." Nick mumbled from between his fingers.

"Hm." Coach nodded.

Nick suddenly emerged. "What?"

"I's just thinkin' is all."

Nick dropped his face again.

"Nick," Coach had now crossed the room and was sitting next to him, a hand on his shoulder. "Six months can be a long time, or a short time; it all depends on how you weigh your feelings."

Nick slowly came up from his hands again, thinking as he stared at the coffee table.

Coach continued. "I ain't sayin' you're wrong, but I'm not gonna say you're right. That's not for me to decide, this is something you have to choose to do or not, and I know that you can do that."

Nick thought for a moment, then slowly nodded before looking up at the older man.

"Thanks, Coach."

Coach nodded.

Nick hopped in his car and pulled out of Coach's driveway, his thoughts a bit more organized now.

_Time to make a trip to my savings account._ He thought to himself.


	24. Chapter 24: Bridal Party

Nick was absolutely bipolar for the next three days. He was still somewhat stressed, and now, extremely giddy, but also worried at the same time. Thankfully he (somewhat) successfully hid it this time.

Ashley sat slouched on the couch as Nick carefully lifted her feet so he could sit down, and then placed them in his lap. She didn't look at him, but continued typing out a text she was sending before he had come back. She was also still upset that he hadn't told her what he was so down about three days ago and why he had left without warning.

It was their first time alone since then and Nick decided to take advantage of the evening he had with Ashley.

"Hey, Ashley?"

She looked up at him with tired eyes.

"I wanna ask you something."

"Okay." She said softly, pulling her knees up under her chin, watching him.

He hesitated, thinking. "I know it's only been six months.. but I really have fallen completely and totally in love with you. But.. I just feel like I don't show you, or tell you enough. And I'm sorry for that, you.. You really are amazing Ashley."

She blushed and a small smile played at her lips, but then it turned into an expression of confusion.

"I thought you wanted to ask me something..?"

"I did."

Ashley's heart seemed to forget how to beat when Nick slid off the couch and kneeled on his right leg in front of her as he slid a black velvet box out of his pocket.

Nick's heartbeat pounded in his ears and he prayed Ashley wouldn't notice how nervous he was.

"Will you marry me, Ashley?"

She was struck speechless and the moments it too between Nick's question and her answer absolutely killed him with fear she would say no.

"Oh my gosh.." She breathed into her fingers that covered her face.

Nick raised his eyebrows hopefully.

"Yes.. Yes!" She squealed. "Yes!"

Her eyes watered up as Nick carefully slid the diamond ring onto her left hand. She threw her arms around his neck and he pulled her into a slow, soft kiss.

"I love you." She half-whispered, half-giggled into his ear.

"I love you, too." He laughed. All of the tension and worry was released in that one simple action, that small burst of laughter. The two couldn't be happier.

"I know six months isn't a very long time," Nick looked her in the eyes as he head her head close to his. "But I really do love you. And.. I just couldn't shake this feeling.."

"What feeling?" Ashley's grey-green eyes stared back into his.

He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. "That someday.. you'd realize you deserve someone so much better than me." He spoke softly.

"Nick.." she whispered.

"It's just something I couldn't stop thinking about." He pulled away and sat back down on the couch. Ashley soon followed, sitting next to him.

"I love you, Ashley; I-.. I don't know what I would do if I lost you to someone else." He slowly shook his head.

Ashley smiled a little. "You don't have to ever worry about that. Especially not now." She held up her left hand, and he grinned.

"My gosh, I love you." They kissed once more before Nick said he should probably head out since he had to run a quick errand before going home, but Ashley was too happy to bother asking what it was.

Nick's black Ford pulled up in front of Coach's house. He smiled to himself a bit before knocking on the door.

Coach appeared in the entryway.

"I did it." Nick grinned

"Oh my GOSH!" Zoey squealed, as Rochelle and Hayden did a little dance of happiness. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE ENGAGED!"

Ashley laughed, trying to be as casual as she could, but then it got the best of her. "I know!" She squealed back, and then all four girls were hugging and jumping and whatnot.

"That is _so_ sweet." Rochelle jumped once more. "Nick is just continuing to blow my mind with all of these.. changes."

"Sometimes I wish all dates turned in to marriages.." Zoey mused.

"Sometimes I don't." Hayden laughed.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She nodded at Zoey. "Hey, if all dates turned into marriages, you wouldn't have Ellis, now that I think about it."

Zoey's eyes widened but she didn't say anything.

Rochelle laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't call that 'dating'. That's just boredom, honey."

Zoey's eyes grew even wider.

Now, Hayden laughed. "Not what you're thinking, Zo. Ellis and I kind of had a thing for each other, or we thought we did, and we kissed once, but it was before you met each other."

Zoey's expression seemed to calm. "I never knew that.. He never told me.." she said silently, shrugging.

Hayden shrugged, too. "I mean, I don't think he was really trying to hide it from you or anything.."

"Yeah." Rochelle piped in. "It's not like they did it or anything."

Zoey shrugged again, clearly over it, and then attention went back to Ashley and her new engagement ring.

"Nick!"

Nick heard a muffled call from his door, and sighed.

"Coming."

But before he could reach the door it had already opened, and Ellis had already entered.

"Nick!" he exclaimed, and then he threw his arms around the taller man in a tight squeeze.

Nick wasn't sure what was going on so he just awkwardly held Ellis and patted him on the back a couple times.

"Man," Ellis pulled away. "I'm so happy for you!" His grin was as wide as Texas itself.

Nick thought for a minute before he realized what Ellis meant. "Oh," he laughed. "Thanks, Ellis."

"Man, you and Ashley are gettin' married!"

Every time someone said it, it seemed to become more and more real.

Ellis clapped Nick on the back. "That's just great, man!"

Finally, Nick was smiling, too. It _was _great. And he was happy to have a friend like Ellis to be there to congratulate him.

Months began to pass, some slow, some faster than others, and some so fast, you would have thought you skipped the month altogether.

It had now been ten months of Ashley and Nick being together (six of dating, four of engagement), nine-and-a-half months of Rochelle and Louis dating, nine months of Zoey and Ellis dating, and five of Francis and Hayden dating.

Relationships were growing stronger, as were feelings, and while Ashley, Zoey, Hayden, and Rochelle were in the car on the way to pick up bridesmaids dresses, Rochelle had a confession to make.

"Louis and I had sex for the first time last night."

The car fell silent.

Rochelle blushed and fought a smile. "Just thought you should all know."

More silence, and then Zoey frowned.

"I want that.."

Everyone simply laughed, and Hayden congratulated Rochelle, even though it wasn't like she was ahead of her when it came to Francis.

"These are so gorgeous, Ashley." Zoey spun around in a pink, satin, sleeveless dress.

"Seriously, though!" Hayden exclaimed, looking herself over in the mirror in a light royal blue dress identical to Zoey's. "You know it's good if you can make _me_ like a dress this much."

Rochelle laughed. Her dress was purple, and also identical. They were the same colors that Zoey and Rochelle wore on the first date they had with everyone, and Hayden's was simply the color she liked to wear best.

"Are you going to try on your dress, Ashley?" Zoey beamed.

"No," Ashley shrugged. "I want it to be that much more surprising on the day."

"Aww." The three girls cooed in unison.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Ashley!"

Everyone turned to see a tall woman with long, naturally pin straight, dark brown hair walking through the doors.

Sam.

Ashley grinned. "No problem, I can bear to wait on my maid of honor. How was the flight?" She hugged the tall woman.

"Oh, GOSH, it was the worst! But you know me, I hate flying." She laughed and hugged Ashley back.

"Guys," Ashley turned to the other girls who had not gotten the chance to meet the tall stranger. "This is Samantha – Sam; Nick's sister."

"Hi!" Sam waved excitedly. "It's so great to finally meet you all!" She hugged and introduced herself to each girl who, unlike Ashley who met Sam four months ago, had never even seen a picture of Nick's sister.

She was tall, she had the same dark brown hair as her brother, and it fell down her back lying straight as a board. She had the same icy-blue eyes, but not nearly as much sarcasm as Nick. You could clearly tell the two were related, and you could clearly tell that Samantha was beautiful. And as of two months ago, she was to be Ashley's made of honor.


	25. Chapter 25: The Wedding

It was Nick's first time being with Ashley's dad without her presence since he had asked him for his blessing on their wedding. But even so, Nick was slightly nervous. He had met Ashley's dad a month before the actual proposal when she, Nick, and Ellis had taken a trip to Mr. Haner's ranch out in Llano, Texas.

_"Daddy, this is Nick." Ashley smiled._

_Ashley's dad walked up to Nick, surpassing him in height._

_"Allen Haner." The tall man extended a callused hand._

_"Nicolas Barretti." Nick shook his hand back, trying to make the shake as firm as possible._

_Did he just see the man crack a smile?_

_"You ever been on a ranch before, Nick?"_

_"No, sir."_

_Allen laughed, then looked down at Nick's feet. "Well, where'd you rough up those boots at then, son?"_

_"Oh, uh," Nick looked down at the black cowboy boots on his feet that were almost too small for him. "Ellis let me borrow these." He chuckled._

_"Where is that son of a gun, anyway?" Allen turned to his daughter._

_"He should be 'round here somewhere." Ashley shrugged._

_Just then, the young man came pulling up in his truck. He jumped out with a big grin on his face._

_"There y'are, Ellis!" Allen exclaimed._

_"Well, shoot, sure is nice to see y'again, Mr. Allen!"_

_They slapped each other on the back with a hug._

People didn't intimidate Nick, and neither did guns. People _with_ guns didn't seem to bother him either, but Ashley's dad didn't bring his heart rate down, that was for sure.

He was a nice man, though. Ashley had his eyes, and Nick was pretty sure that they once shared the same hair color, but Allen's was darker and was now streaked with grey.

Now, he was sitting on Ashley's back porch with the man, along with Ellis, the same place he had been months ago when he brought up his intentions to ask Ashley to marry him.

Allen and Ellis were talking about whatever, but Nick's mind was stuck on one single thing, as his gaze was stuck on one same spot on the glass table outside.

"Nick,"

He jumped hearing his name. "Sir?"

"What'sa matter with you, son?"

Nick shrugged. "I'm not sure, I guess I'm just caught up in thought."

"You gettin' cold feet, Nick?" Ellis chuckled.

Nick just rolled his eyes. That would _never_ happen. But could it be something else?

Nick tried to shake the thoughts out of his head.

Then, all three of them turned their attention to the sliding glass door as Ashley and Zoey came walking out.

"Hi, Daddy." Ashley gave her dad a hug.

"Hey, Mr. H." Zoey waved with a grin.

"Hey, Zoey!" Mr. Haner got out of his seat to hug Zoey. "It's been a while since I seen ya, girl."

Zoey laughed and took her place at the table next to Ellis.

Ashley stood behind Nick.

"So, how did things go today?" Allen asked the girls.

"Great." Ashley smiled.

"The dresses are _GORGEOUS_." Zoey beamed.

Ashley raised her eyebrows at Zoey and she made the motion of closing an imaginary zipper across her lips.

Ellis just laughed.

"Well, that's good, sweetie, I can't wait to see 'em."

"Shoot, y'all.." Ellis shook his head. "I can't believe the wedding is only two weeks away."

"Ellis!" Zoey hissed, slapping him lightly on the arm. "You're gonna stress them out!"

Nick and Ashley laughed.

"Don't worry, Zo. It's good he gets used to that for the future."

"Oh, OKAY." Nick rolled his eyes and laughed.

But sure enough, two weeks later they were facing the day they'd all spent months planning for, as it came faster than expected.

Ashley had spent all day running around, making phone calls, and checking to see that everything was as it should be, until Zoey and Rochelle forced her to take a break.

Finally, evening had arrived, and Ashley was seated in front of a large vanity in a black satin robe. Zoey was in front of her brushing on different shades of eyeshadow and pink puffs of blush, stopping and giggling every now and then.

"Ashley," she smiled moving out of the way. "You're so gorgeous."

Ashley slowly opened her eyes to see her reflection.

She had shimmery nude shades of shadows on her eyes, just a hint of eyeliner on the edges, and her lashes had been flared up and out to top it all off. Her cheeks were tinted with rose, but no one could tell if it was just the makeup or if it was really Ashley.

"Thanks, Zoey." She smiled a little now seeing her face.

Rochelle then walked over and reached out to gently pull the pins out of Ashley's hair, when Sam suddenly flew out of the adjoining room.

"Wait!"

Everyone froze.

Sam walked over and slipped the pins from Ashley's hair letting her natural waves cascade over her shoulders.

"Leave it like that." Sam grinned.

"What?" Ashley exclaimed. "I can't go out like this, this is my natural hair! Sam, you've gotta be joking!"

The tall girl shook her head, still smiling. "Nicky likes it that way."

Wide-eyed Ashley frowned at her worried reflection in the mirror.

"It _is_ gorgeous, you know." Rochelle said meeting Ashley's eyes in the mirror.

"Really, it is." Zoey nodded cheerfully.

Ashley was still frowning. "I guess you can leave it." She shrugged. "I just don't see it."

They slipped the robe off of her and helped her into her dress which she had only seen on her the day she bought it.

She slowly turned to look at herself in the mirror and froze.

Gorgeous white hung all over her naturally tan skin; the dress was strapless, had a sweetheart neckline, and the skirt had a twisted ruffle on the side, keeping it slim, but not too skinny.

Ashley was gorgeous, and maybe she didn't see it how others did, but she was definitely beautiful.

Rochelle pinned two pieces of her hair back which she bumped forward, making a rest for the clip that held the veil.

Ashley felt like she couldn't breathe as she watched all of this happen so quickly.

Meanwhile, in the other building, Nick couldn't be still. He was nervous, anxious, excited, happy, basically every emotion possible.

"Nick, you gotta calm down." Ellis threw a hand on his shoulder. "Y'Look like a horse gettin' branded."

"Ellis, I-.." Nick shook his head. "I just can't help but think it finally hit her."

Ellis cocked his head to the side and frowned.

"That she.." Nick's voice lowered as did his eyes. "That she realized she deserves so much better than me."

"Quit talkin' like that, Nick, that ain't right." Ellis shook his head.

"Yeah, Nick." Francis said buttoning his vest. "Things are gonna be fine. Y'all are great together and you're about to get married, so quit bein' so negative and go out there and shine!" The biker slapped him on the back.

After multiple deep breaths, hand shakes, and sets of jumping up and down, Nick slipped out and took his place in front of the wooden backdrop covered with white roses. Coach laid a hand on his shoulder and nodded, and Nick simply prayed no one would notice how nervous he was.

The music switched and the color coordinated pairs began to descend the aisle.

First was Zoey and Ellis, wearing pink.

Then Hayden and Francis, wearing blue.

Last were Rochelle and Louis, wearing purple.

There was a small period of time in which they all took to break off onto either side of Coach, and then the music switched again, but it soon faded, drowned out by the sound of Nick's heartbeat slamming in his ears.

Everyone slowly rose up.

Ashley came walking out from around the corner, one hand looped through her father's arm, the other holding up the front of her dress so she could walk, slightly revealing the same black and blue boots she had worn on her first date with Nick.

Everyone was speechless aside from a few gasps and "Oh!"s, and a few people even had tears in their eyes, and then finally Ashley's dad placed a kiss on his daughter's cheek and sat down as Ashley went and took her place at the altar next to Nick.


	26. Chapter 26: Tier Cakes and Tragedy

Ashley and Nick kept their eyes locked on each other the entire time Coach spoke the vows, flashing each other little smiles every now and then.

"Ashley," Coach turned to Ashley, and for the first time she broke eye contact with her future husband standing before her. "Would you place the ring on his finger?"

Ashley smiled and grabbed the ring that lay on a small silver pillow resting in the hands of one of her good friend's son.

She slid the golden band onto Nick's finger.

"Now, repeat these words" Coach began. "I, Ashley.."

"I, Ashley.."

"Take you, Nicolas.."

"Take you, Nicolas," Ashley couldn't help but laugh a little when she called him by his full first name, and Nick smiled and fought back a laugh as well.

"To be mine, and to have me as yours,"

"To be mine, and to have me as yours,"

"Forever and always."

"Forever and always." Ashley meaningfully stared into Nick's eyes.

Nick slid the same band (only smaller) onto Ashley's hand and repeated the same vows to her, and as Coach began to speak, you could hear soft whimpers that would soon turn into joyful sobs in the moments to come.

"On this day under the power of my hand by the grace of the God in heaven above, I pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Nicolas Barretti, and you may kiss your bride."

The whole world seemed to spin for a moment and then disappear to Nick as his hands slowly reached for the veil that had been covering Ashley's face. He gently lifted it away and grinned even wider when Ashley blushed at his smile.

He slowly leaned in towards her, and as she did the same her eyes lidded, and then their lips met.

You could hear gasps, "aww"s, sighs, and of course, the crying coming from the crowd they stood before, but all Nick could think was that he wanted this one kiss to last a lifetime. But he knew it couldn't and the two slowly broke away to see Coach nod once in approval like he always did, and then the extremely elated crowd that had risen to their feet and was applauding as Nick took Ashley's hand and the two walked back down the aisle, followed by the bride and groom's parties, headed for the reception.

The reception was wonderful; it was not outdoors as the ceremony was but it was in a little country club building with a wall full of glass doors that were left open to let the perfect weather drift in.

Nick and Ashley and the wedding parties were seated at a table on a small platform, and Nick had decided it was time to get everyone's attention for a speech.

"So," he began. "I know that most speeches at weddings are a little about the newly wedded couple, and a little about thanking the people that came, and don't get me wrong; I'm very grateful that you all came today, and I'm sure Ashley is as well, but she's the one I want this whole thing to be about." He smiled at a now blushing Ashley before continuing. "A lot of you that know me would never think I would be one to get married, and on top of that, I don't even think I could have seen myself marrying this little southern belle right here," he motioned to Ashley as her face turned a shade of pink when the crowd chuckled. "But I mean, things, and people, can change. And that's exactly what Ashley did for me. I've only known her for about a year, which, I know to some sounds crazy, but I'm kind of crazy in love with her. While we didn't meet under the greatest circumstances," Ellis chuckled softly when Nick said this. "It didn't take me long to realize not only how absolutely gorgeous she is, but that she's extremely smart, she puts everyone before no matter what, and that she has more determination than anyone I know. She's extremely kind and caring, and when we first met I was honestly blown away by these and many other qualities she possesses. Over the seconds and minutes and days and months we spent together, I began to find myself smiling a bit more and little things like that. She took the past I wanted to forget and turned it into the future I didn't think was possible. She has completely changed my outlook in so many ways, and she has most definitely made me a much better man than I was in the beginning, and words can't express or describe how much she means to me, and how grateful I am to have met her, and to now be married to her." He turned to his wife. "Ashley, you've done amazing things for many people, but I don't think I could ever come up with a label for what you've done for me, and I love you so much."

The room erupted with applause and Ashley wiped a few tears from her eyes as Nick sat down and kissed her on the cheek.

Then Zoey grabbed the mic.

"So I can tell that Ashley is absolutely speechless," Ashley nodded. "I mean, wasn't that just the sweetest? Anyway.. So, here's a little something Nick failed to mention earlier; when he and Ashley first met, you best believe it was not love at first sight, but then again," Zoey laughed. "It wasn't smooth sailing for he and I in the beginning either." Nick rolled his eyes and laughed. "But don't worry, Nick is really a great guy and we've gotten way past that." She nodded and waved a hand as so push the past aside.

"Ashley, and I.. we've known each other for years, and I feel so old saying this, but we really have. My parents were divorced when was a kid and my dad moved out here to Texas to live with his mom, my grandma. That's when I met Ashley, I was about 10 years old. I'd like to think we instantly clicked, I mean, I was instantly star-struck by her, as she was about two years older than me and I thought she was the coolest person ever, which, she still is." Everyone chuckled a little. "So, yeah. We quickly became friends and we would hang out as much as possible every time I came down from New York to see my dad. The years passed and I got to see her less and less but we still stayed the best of friends and about a little over a year ago, we bumped into each other around Savannah, Georgia. Now, she had this guy, Nick with her, okay, he was traveling with them, and honestly, Nick and I didn't really care for each other, and I couldn't understand why Ashley was so nice to him, but she was and in the end all that nice gave Nick a change of heart or something, and so when we all made it back home to Texas, you know, you'd see them hanging out a lot, and Ashley let him stay at her house and stuff, and the rest of us warmed up to Nick and whatnot," everyone laughed again, even Nick. "And then, I would see them holding hands, and the day they kissed, oh. My. GOSH. Boom, I was instantly in love with them being a couple. And I still am. They are the cutest, are they not? They are." Ashley laughed and shook her head. "They have the sweetest story, and I'm more than glad to be here at their wedding to congratulate them, and to say thank you for being there for me all those years, and I love you both."

Everyone applauded Zoey and then they all went back to eating.

When dinner was coming to a close, Ashley and Nick slipped back into the rooms they were getting ready in earlier and changed into jeans and shirts to leave in, and everyone lined up on either side of a walkway with sparklers in hand, waving the twinkling sticks around in the night, cheering on the newly-weds as they hopped in Nick's car and drove away.

"I love you so much." Nick grinned at Ashley as they pulled up to a stoplight.

"I love you so much, too." She giggled back before pressing her lips to his in the red glow of the traffic posts. They didn't notice when the light changed to green and continued to kiss, until someone honked at them and they broke off laughing and drove away.

The ride was mostly quiet; a little conversation, and the radio playing in the background.

"Um, hey, babe, is my inhaler in one of the bags back there?" Ashley asked after a while.

"Uhh, I dunno, I think you left that at your house, hon." Nick shrugged.

"Oh," Ashley nodded, frowning a bit and placing one hand over her chest. "Okay."

Nick frowned as well. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah.. I'll be fine." She nodded.

And she _was_ fine, until twenty minutes later when Nick looked over to find her motionless in the passenger seat.


	27. Chapter 27: Beach Bound!

It had only been a matter of hours since Ashley had last seen Nick, but it was killing her. She hated to be away from him more than she hated the asthmatic curse that followed her everywhere. Not to mention this incident happened no more than an hour after their _wedding_. Ashley could breathe now; she'd been hooked up to a nebulizer for the past hour and had just tried to relax, closing her eyes and trying not to think about where she was. There was a soft knock on her door and she sat up, sniffing at the breathing tubes now stuck in her nose, and then the door slowly opened.

Nick gave a small, weak smile as he walked in.

"Hey,"

"Hey.." Ashley's voice cracked before she began to cry.

Over the past year that Nick had met Ashley, he had seen that she was truly one of the strongest people he ever met, if not the strongest, and now, he was seeing her cry for the first time ever, and it was the only thing that made him want to do the same.

"Ashley, what's wrong?" He was quickly by her side with a hand on her shoulder while she buried her face in her hands.

"I'm so sorry, Nick." She choked out softly.

"For what?" He didn't understand.

She looked up. "For always being such a problem," she sobbed silently. "I'm sorry that I have all these health issues that get in the way."

"Ashley," he shook his head. "None of this is your fault, and it's not a problem. I want to be here for you, no matter what, just like I told you today."

She began to cry even more and Nick couldn't understand what he had said wrong.

"I'm sorry," She whispered again.

All Nick could do was look at her with an expression of worry and confusion.

"You haven't done anything wrong, Ashley."

She looked at him with eyes so painful he felt her hurt physically.

"Nick, it's our wedding night, and you're sitting in a hospital room because of _me_."

He quickly shook his head, and when she started to protest, he took her face gently between his palms.

"Hey, I meant what I said today, and if it takes sitting here with you all night on the day of our wedding to prove that, then I will. I love you, Ashley, I do. I will always be the one beside you in times like this, and whenever you need me. It doesn't bother me at all, because I care about you."

She just stared back at him, speechless.

He gently kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep, I'm gonna go get us out of here."

He left the room and Ashley just sat there, still struck speechless by Nick's words, and then she slowly fell asleep.

About an hour and a half later, Ashley flinched awake at the sound of a car door closing, and then she jumped as Nick soon appeared behind her, opening her door to get her out.

"Oh, I'm sorry," He gently stroked her cheek with his fingers. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's fine," she mumbled.

He lifted her from the passenger seat and kicked the door shut with his foot before single-handedly fumbling with the locked door before pushing it open.

He carried her up the stairs of their recently bought house and he couldn't help but smile to himself.

She mumbled something and lifted her feet up towards him as he laid her on the bed, and he laughed before slipping her jeans off. He changed into a pair of basketball shorts and crawled into the bed next to her, slipping his arms around her waist.

"I love you." He whispered as she laid her head on his chest.

"I love you, too." She sleepily mumbled against his skin.

He held her close as she fell asleep and for the first time in a while, he found himself happy, truly happy.

When Ashley woke up the next morning, she felt much better, but she couldn't quite place where she was. Slowly, things started coming back to her; she was in a building, a house, she was in a bed, and it was not a hospital cot, and there were arms around her waist.

She then remembered coming home, to her new home, from the hospital last night and falling asleep almost as soon as she got in the bed.

She smiled as she rolled over in Nick's arms and saw his peaceful face, still asleep. She hugged herself close to his chest and he began to shuffle awake.

"Hey," his rough voice said softly as he stretched and smiled at her.

"Hi," she half-whispered looking up at him.

"Feeling any better?"

She nodded.

"Good." He kissed her forehead.

"I'm still sorry." Her wide, grey-green eyes stared into his.

"Ashley.."

"No, I am. I'm not gonna say it was necessarily something I could have avoided but I still feel bad ruining our honeymoon."

He sighed and then shrugged. "Honestly… I don't know where we were gonna go anyway."

They both laughed.

"Hey, I got it."

"Hm?"

"Let's go down to the beach for a few days, huh?"

Ashley snorted a laugh. "Have you _been_ to a Texas beach before? It's a trash pile compared to anywhere else you've been."

Nick shrugged. "As long as I'm with you."

Ashley smiled, and then slipped out from under the covers, going to grab a pair of running shorts to throw on.

"Where are you going?" Nick frowned a little.

"I've got a hungry man in my bed and someone has to make him breakfast." She winked before walking out the bedroom door and heading downstairs.

Nick just laughed.

"So, you wanna go to the beach, huh," Ashley half-asked, half-stated later when they were both downstairs.

"Yeah, why not?" Nick grinned.

Ashley shrugged. "If that's what you wanna do."

"Well, do you not?"

"I didn't say that.. I like the beach."

He smiled at her.

"So.. when did you wanna go?"

He rolled his eyes around as he mused.

"Now?" he shrugged.

Ashley laughed, but then Nick just kept staring at her.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!" he threw his fists in the air. "Let's go pack!"

He scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder as she giggled hysterically all the way up the stairs.

"_**Beach Bound!**_" read the text Ashley typed into her phone and sent to everyone as they threw clothes into suitcases and Nick loaded up the car.

"Soo.." he paused, standing outside the fully-packed car.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I kinda don't know where to go.." he looked at her and shrugged innocently.

She laughed and snatched the keys from him. "What am I gonna do with you, Suit."

He laughed and hopped in the passenger seat of her Jeep, and the two honeymooners drove off, officially headed towards Corpus Christi's beaches, and whatever other adventures waited the newlyweds.


	28. Chapter 28: Beaches and Bedrooms

**_This chapter contains sexual situations that should not be viewed by all readers; discretion is advised._**

The trip took about three and a half hours, but they had made it to Corpus around seven o'clock that Friday evening. They stayed in a somewhat secluded little rental condo on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and it was just the two of them, and the waves.

"Well, this is nice." Nick smiled as he looked around the house.

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, smiling back as she watched him.

"Race you to the water?" he threw her a playful grin as he bolted for his suitcase.

"HEY! That's not fair!" Ashley whined. "You're already halfway in your swim clothes!"

Just the same she raced for one of her duffle bags, dragging the whole thing into the bathroom with her rather than digging out her clothes. She went back and forth between undressing and opening the bag to find her swimsuit until she was finally unclothed and the bag was open. She slipped out of the bathroom once she was done.

"I win." Nick, who was now wearing a pair of black and white board shorts, smiled down at her.

She began to pout but then she smiled and shook her head, and he responded with a confused look.

"You still have your shirt on." She tugged at the grey t-shirt he was wearing. "I win." She winked and then headed towards the back porch.

"Aw, come on!" Nick playfully groaned before throwing off his shirt and following her out to the wooden deck with stairs leading to the shore.

By the time he came out, she was already by the water, and he began to finally take in what she looked like now that she had changed;

She wore a black bikini top with a bit of fringe that hung down to her mid stomach and a pair of plain black shorts with it. He could now see the skin that was normally hidden beneath whatever shirt she was wearing, and he now longed to touch what was finally exposed to him. Her legs were slim and tan and from the distance he viewed her at, they looked longer, but as he neared her and his height surpassed her once more, she returned to her normal stature, which Nick still found adorable.

They stood at the edge of the shore with the tide rolling up to their toes, and he slid his arm around her waist as the two stared into the ocean and into the sunset. It was silent until Ashley's gaze turned towards the water close by them.

"Hey, what's that?" she pointed.

"Uhh," Nick bent down towards the water to get a closer look.

"Gotcha!" Ashley yelled as she scooped her hand and splashed a small wave of water into his face.

He rubbed his eyes and spit only to look up and see her running into the waves laughing.

"Hey!" he yelled back before he took off after her.

She yelled as he chased her around in the water and once he finally got to her, he scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder as she screamed, swinging her arms and legs around.

"Hold your breath!" he yelled as she screamed again just before he submerged her into the water.

They laughed and splashed and chased and had a great time out in the water together for a few hours or so before Ashley took off running once more and Nick chased her all the way up to the deck where he caught her at the sliding glass doors that she just couldn't open fast enough.

They laughed until they had no breath left and then he spun her around to face him.

"I love you." He smiled down at her as he gently brushed away a strand of now dried hair from her face.

"I love you, too." She blushed back up at him.

They leaned in to kiss, and once their lips met, they found themselves not wanting to break this one, as Ashley's fingers fumbled with the door until she got it open and Nick walked her inside, their mouths not once separating. Eyes closed, Nick tripped over a step going from the living room to the hallway, which made Ashley laugh, so he just scooped her up bridal style and rushed her towards the bedroom. He set her down once inside and kicked the door shut as they resumed the previously interrupted kiss, and he slipped his hands into her hair, smoothly removing the small black band that kept it up, and this time, she didn't even flinch as her hair fell over her shoulders yet again. She broke away from him, pushing herself back by placing her hands on his chest, and she slowly leaned back onto the bed before looking him directly in the eye and pulling her bikini top over her head, then tossing it aside.

Although this was something Nick hoped for, and maybe even expected a little, he was struck frozen for a moment; a moment in which she slipped off the black shorts she was wearing as well.

Finally he found the strength to move again and he slowly walked towards her.

"My Gosh, you're beautiful.." he half-whispered as he gently ran his fingers up the outside of her leg.

She giggled and the completely surprised him by hooking none other than her toes into the waistband of his board shorts and sliding them off onto the floor.

"Ooh," he raised his eyebrows at her. "That's how you wanna play?"

She simply giggled again as he leaned onto the bed over her and began to kiss her again, and she softly snaked her fingers into his hair, until suddenly, she gasped aloud and his lips moved from hers to her jaw, then down her neck onto her collarbone. Her grip in his hair tightened and she leaned her head onto the bed, arching her back a bit as his movements became faster.

In the meantime, his lips moved to the other side of her neck and his hands slid to her sides, then up to her chest. She sighed again as her eyes lidded and she lay completely on the bed.

Every now and then she would sigh, pitches and volume varying a bit, and Nick would let out a small moan of approval.

However, as his pace quickened, and her grip tightened, these moans grew louder, coming from both of them now, until Ashley's shoulders flexed backwards and her back arched up again.

"Oh, Nick." She breathed.

And from there, the night was filled with nothing but pure ecstasy shared between the two bodies of their passionate souls on the bed in the somewhat secluded little rental condo on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.


	29. Chapter 29: Wedding Rings Wedding Wrongs

Things got a little calmed down between the remaining members of the group now that Ashley and Nick were away because no one wanted to do anything big without them there, but there were still get-togethers, and times when Ellis would come home to Rochelle and Sam sitting on the sofa in the living room talking to Zoey, and just the same, Ellis would have a beer or two with Francis and Louis, occasionally Coach. But even with the contact remaining constant, there would still be times when Zoey would whine, "I miss Ashley!" or Louis would comment, "Honestly, it just feels a little weird without Nick.", to which even Francis would nod in agreement.

And of course, on the other end of things, Ashley and Nick wouldn't speak their thoughts out loud, but in their heads they both thought of how they wished the rest of the group was with them sometimes. Mind you, there were other times when they were thankful to be alone as well.

It was evening now, and Ellis had just gotten home from work and was going to get in the shower. Zoey was at Rochelle's and would soon be home so he felt like he should get all the black and brown sludge off of him – whether it be mud or motor oil or maybe even a little dried blood – before she returned.

Which, about as he was getting out, Zoey walked in the door and went to the bedroom to put her things away before kicking off her shoes and flopping down on the couch.

"Hey, there, Miss."

Zoey jumped and blushed a little at the sound of Ellis' Southern drawl coming from the bedroom door.

He laughed and went to sit down next to her, kissing her on the cheek.

She babbled about her day and how she wanted Nick and Ashley to come home and that's when Ellis' previous thoughts jumped up to the front of the line in his head, but just the same he kept his mouth shut, until a few minutes later when they were laying on the couch together, watching TV.

"Hey, Zo.." Ellis shuffled to sit up from underneath her.

She turned to him with wide brown eyes that sparkled like glitter-infused caramel.

"I been thinkin'.. and I don't wanna rush things, 'cause I feel like I don' this way too soon, but I just couldn't help it.. and so I mean.. now we don't have to do this anytime soon, but I just mean.."

Zoey chuckled a bit at Ellis' nervous speech, but at the same time, a million ideas of what he could mean filled her head.

Until he dropped to the floor on bended knee and she lost all ability to speak.

"Now, I mean, like I said.. we don't gotta get married no time soon 'cause I know how you been wantin' to take things slow but.. when we was at Nick and Ashley's wedding I just couldn't get myself to stop thinkin' about how much I wanted us to have the same thing, and so I mean, I'm not.. I mean I don't wanna say we gotta get married right now but.. I just want you to know how I feel and I mean, I love you, Zo, and I don't want you to run off with some other guy that ain't gon' treat you right, so.. I mean.. I just want you to be mine." He held out the small red box and opened it to reveal it's sparkly, pink-tinted contents.

Tears welled up in Zoey's eyes and she willed them to stay back as she burst into exclamation.

"Oh, my Gosh, Ellis, yes!"

He scooped her up into his arms and spun her around the living room as she held herself tightly around his neck. Then he set her down and slid the ring onto her finger.

"I'm yours." She smiled as she looked down at it, then up at him.

"Good." He kissed her forehead.

"Oh, hey, baby?"

"Yeah?"

"You said 'I mean' at least ten times.." she laughed. "You're really cute when you're nervous."

Ellis laughed with her and then kissed her once more.

Later that same night in the lower regions of the state, Ashley and Nick were laying in their condo. Ashley was on her stomach, topless, wearing nothing but a pair of lacy underwear, and Nick, clad in a pair of grey basketball shorts, was laid on his side next to her, tracing his fingers over every scar he found on her back, secretly wishing that if he willed hard enough, they would go away.

It had been silent until finally Ashley spoke.

"Tell me about your other wife, Caroline."

He didn't respond instantly, so she turned her head to face him.

He sighed softly, gently placed his lips on a few scars on her side that he had not gotten to, and then laid down on his back.

"Alright," he said.

Ashley slid off the other side of the bed and grabbed a big black sweatshirt from her bag that read 'THEORY OF A DEADMAN' on the front and slipped it over her naked torso before jumping on the bed and pulling herself close to Nick's side.

He sighed softly again, this time more of a musing sigh as to find a place to begin.

"Well, you see, I used to travel a lot." Ashley beamed up at him with her head on his chest as he began his story.

"Originally, you know, I'm from Boston, but I did spend quite a while near the West coast.

"So anyway, I was in Vegas, and I met this guy that Big told me I was supposed to be working with.. Uh, oh, Big was our 'boss' I suppose you could say."

Ashley gave a small nod.

"So, yeah, I meet up with this guy and he's like, 'hey, first night in Vegas, let's hit some clubs before we have to actually get down to business' and I'm like yeah, sure, whatever, alcohol and show girls, and honestly, I wasn't really in the mood. So we go to this club-slash-bar deal and there's girls dancing and whatnot, and he runs off into the back with some brunette, so I'm like, why not have a drink, Nick? So I'm sitting at the bar and after this guy slides me some scotch, there's a blonde cleanin' down the bar and so she politely asks me to lift my drink for her, 'if I'm not too drunk' she says, and I said

'Well, excuse me, I didn't know you had to get completely drunk at a bar' and after that she sat and talked with me and I mean we talked for hours, basically the entire night, which was extremely long. So the next couple days, if I had free time, I'd go to the bar just to talk to her, and by the end of the week, man I swear I was in love, or so I thought. So I told her I was leaving, she was so torn that we couldn't stay, so that evening I went out and got her a ring, ran her down to a chapel, and we got married, to some Las Vegas wedding extent, and then we stayed in the hotel that night."

The whole time he spoke, he'd been staring at the ceiling as if his thoughts were projecting themselves and he could see it all clear as when it happened.

"About a minute after we check in, I get a call from Big, he says he's gonna meet me at the bar for a drink. I told Caroline I wouldn't be any longer than a couple hours and that I was meeting up with a friend one last time, and I headed down. So, Big just asks me to take out a guy who didn't pay him back out in Cali, and I told him I had an acquaintance of sorts I would call that lived 'round there to help me out, which, mind you, I did, but he wasn't exactly 'up for the job' if you know what I mean, but then again, neither was I."

He paused and looked down at Ashley. "I've never killed anyone."

She just blinked so he resumed.

"So, we chat for a while and I go to head back upstairs and the desk clerk stops me and says, 'Do you need a cart, sir?'. Confused, I asked why and he tells me that my wife already came down with her bags. So I ran upstairs and sure enough, Caroline and her bags are gone, and on the bed is the ring and a note that says 'Things wouldn't work out, Nicky' signed with her name and a little heart. After doing some research – research being asking the desk clerk – I come to find she ran off with a guy that I had decked in the face earlier 'cause he was getting a little grabby with her. So, even though we only knew each other for a short time, that was my first flirt with real love, and it didn't go too well."

"Do you still have the ring?" Ashley asked.

"Nah," he waved his hand as if he was brushing her question aside along with the ring. "I had to pawn it later.. It wasn't too nice, but I'm not cheap."

Ashley laughed a little and then her smile faded. "Well I'm sorry you had to go through that."

He shook his head. "I don't need her. I have you." He rolled over so that he was somewhat hovering over her from the side and then gently kissed her lips.

"I love you." She smiled before she pulled herself back into his chest.

"I love you, too, Ashley." He mumbled into her soft hair before the two fell asleep.


	30. Chapter 30: Acceptance

Nick slowly stretched awake, his eyes blinking at the golden streams coming from the window. It was the morning they would pack up and go home.

Yawning, his fingers reached next to him, expecting to brush against Ashley's warm skin, but she wasn't there. He slipped out of bed and slowly thumped down the stairs, where he found Ashley sitting on the cushioned bench in front of the window by the front door. She had her knees tucked up to her chest and she was watching little kids run around in the empty streets outside, their mother watching from the driveway, and reminding them not to go too far.

Ashley's face held an expression Nick couldn't quite comprehend; she was smiling as if she was happy, but the smile was small, and it looked as if her eyes were regretful.

"Cute, aren't they," Nick mused aloud, trying to break the silence, as he walked up and put his hands on her shoulders.

She gave a small laugh. "Yeah, they are. I always wanted kids, even when I was one."

He leaned down and placed his lips next to her ear. "Well, you know we could make that happen."

She let out the same, small laugh, this time with a second beat, and dryer than the first. "No.. I can't have kids." She shrugged as she got up and headed towards the kitchen where she had started breakfast.

"Sure, you can." Nick turned and paused a bit before following her. "You would make an amazing mother, Ashley."

She smiled a little, looking down as she turned to him, and he pulled her close. "That's not what I meant, but thank you."

Nick tilted his head to the side and was about to ask, but then she looked up at him and said, "I meant that I really can't have kids. It's a dream I tried to give up on years ago."

Nick wanted to take back everything he had said that morning as a horrible pit filled his stomach.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

She shrugged. "It's fine, I suppose, I mean.. what can you do about it, yeah?" she tried to smile, but Nick wasn't going to believe she really felt that way.

"Ashley.." he gently brushed his fingers over her face, but then he found he had nothing to say.

She grabbed his hand and held it to her face a moment longer before she pulled it away and kissed it.

Then she smiled. "Don't worry about it, baby. Come on," she tried to change the subject. "I know you're hungry."

He laughed and she lead him into the kitchen where he sat on a stool at the island counter while she made breakfast, and they didn't mention that morning's conversation for the rest of the day.

"They're coming home today!"

Ellis jumped awake at the sound of someone yelling, and when he quickly sat up, he saw that Zoey was standing in the doorway of his bedroom, a wide grin on her face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, Ashley and Nick." Ellis mumbled sleepily.

"They're coming home!" She skipped into the room and jumped onto the bed next to him. "Does that not make you excited?"

He laughed a little, rubbing his eyes. "It does, but.. baby, I was sleeping."

"I know." She nodded. "But it's twelve thirty-seven, and that's late, even if you are taking off work on a Friday."

He looked at the clock, and sure enough, she was right.

"Shoot, I'm sorry, Zo, I didn't think I was that tired."

She smiled and kissed his forehead before padding back out of the room.

Once everyone was awake, they all met at Nick and Ashley's house. It had only been a week since they left, but it was a long one for sure.

There was a sign hanging from the balcony back in the living room that said "Welcome Home" and underneath it they had placed homemade signs that said "NICK & ASHLEY".

They had placed two bouquets of three balloons each by the front door, and in the kitchen next to the living room, all of them had contributed to a meal just for the two of them.

Everyone was sitting on the couches talking and then Ellis jumped up.

"Hey, shh, I hear a car pullin' up, y'all!" He yelled as quietly as he could.

They all lined up shoulder by shoulder in the living room under the banner, and silently waited.

The door opened.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I can see where you're coming from there."

Nick took a deep breath, and sighed. "Gosh, it feels good to be home."

They were now making it down the hallway that lead to the living room.

"Guess I should actually check my phone now that we're hom-"

"Welcome home, guys!"

The two looked up, wide-eyed, and then laughed.

Everyone got a hug from Ashley and Nick and then they laughed at the banner hanging in their home.

Rochelle lead them to the kitchen where the food was and Ashley insisted that everyone sit down and eat it with them.

So they did.

Coach said grace for them, as usual, and then the house filled with the sounds of clinking, and talking, and laughing, and good times.

"Soo, tell us about your trip!" Hayden beamed.

Nick and Ashley both looked at each other and shared a secret laugh before Nick began.

"Uh, well.." he shrugged. "It was nice, the house was very nice, and.. yeah." He shrugged again with a little laugh.

"Nick, you are so boring." Zoey stared at him with a flat expression. "Ash?"

Ashley laughed as Nick gave a mock-pout. "Well, yeah, I mean, the drive wasn't too bad, for someone who hates long car rides, and the house was really cute, it was a little condo by the beach, which, the beach was great, the water was nice, and the little shops in town were great, too!'

Everyone began to chat again, whether it was to Nick or Ashley or anyone.

Ashley slipped away and began to collect the dishes until she got caught in the kitchen.

"Ohh, HELL no." Rochelle pointed a finger at Ashley. "Girl, you ain't doin' no dishes; that's my job, honey."

Ashley frowned and crossed her arms over her chest in a pout.

"Girl, sit yo'self down!" Rochelle laughed.

Once dinner was over, the conversation moved to the living room and around six o'clock, everyone began to leave.

"Oh my GOSH!" Nick exclaimed from the living room, throwing himself backwards onto the couch, as Ashley shut the front door, everyone on their way home.

She laughed.

"It's not funny!" he threw his hands up. "I'm tired as hell!"

She just laughed again as she made her way into the living room to where he was.

"Too busy for me?" she gave him an innocent, but sexy look as she straddled his hips.

"Never." He grinned sitting up to kiss her.

"So, anyway.." Francis said walking back to the living room. "Hey, Hayden-.."

He stopped and laughed at the sight of the sleeping girl on his couch, who had been wide awake moments earlier.

He smiled at her peaceful face, her scrunched figure as she buried her face in a pillow, her hair falling all around her head.

Francis sat down on the other couch and put his feet back up on the table and began to flip through the channels on the TV once more as he opened his beer.

He flinched when the cap snapped loudly and hissed not thinking it would wake Hayden up, and when she began to shuffle on the other couch, he cursed under his breath.

She sat up with tired eyes and then grabbed the pillow and slowly padded over to the couch Francis was on. Holding the pillow close to her chest, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Baby?" her voice was quiet, and a bit scratchy from sleep.

"Yeah?" He threw an arm around her.

"Can I stay with you tonight, please?"

He smiled. "Absolutely." And their lips met once more before Hayden slipped off to the bedroom.

Francis sat for an hour, alone, TV on, but he wasn't paying attention at all.

He was so lost in thought.

About Hayden.

Francis had dated and whatnot in the past, but he never stayed still. The fact that he was always traveling from city to city and state to state kept him from ever having a relationship longer than maybe a month or even less, until now.

He didn't know what it was, but there was something about Hayden that made him want to be with her, forever.

Maybe it was her good looks, as she was very beautiful.

Maybe it was her sweet voice, as he did like to hear her talk.

Maybe it was her long brown hair, as he loved it when she let it down.

Or maybe it was because she loved him, and she wanted him to stay, but she wanted to go with him if he left, and those things were all he needed.

To be accepted.

He smiled at these thoughts and then he headed to his room to go to bed.

He walked in and slipped out of his torn and tattered jeans, threw off his shirt, and just as he was about to climb into the bed, Hayden came out of the bathroom, a pile of her clothes laying by the door, and she was now wearing nothing but an old Harley Davidson shirt of Francis' over her underwear that was big around her skinny figure and hung low on her almost like a dress.

She blushed when she saw him standing there, in his boxer shorts. "Sorry, I didn't think you would mind."

"No, not at all." He smiled, and walked up to her, pulling her close to him. "I think you look rather adorable."

She threw her arms around his neck and giggled when he kissed the tip of her nose.

"Come on, sleepyhead." He set her on the bed and tucked her in before climbing in next to her.

Feeling accepted.


	31. Chapter 31: Keith

"Really? That's amazing.."

Nick was walking in the front door, and he could hear Ashley's voice coming from the living room.

_She's probably on the phone again.._ he thought with a shrug to himself.

But then he heard another voice.

"Yeah, I mean.. we've been so close for so long, and.. I didn't know what I was s'posd to do 'cause I thought I lost him.."

Nick ignored the words the voice was saying as he picked up the pace to the living room.

It was a man's voice. One he did not recognize. And it was sitting in his living room with his wife.

"Baby!" Ashley beamed at a tense-looking Nick as he walked in.

The man sitting on the couch across from her turned to face Nick.

He had rust colored, dark brown hair, grass green eyes, and just a bit of scruff growing around his mouth. He wore a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of worn out jeans, and black boots that looked strangely familiar to Nick.

Then it hit him as soon as he saw the tow-truck cap on the man's head.

"Oh my Gosh." He said silently without a blink away from the man.

Ashley beamed even wider.

"Nick, this is Keith."

Nick wasn't entirely sure how to react to such a thing.

"Um.." he found himself at a loss for words as he slid off his coat and laid it on the stool he stood next to. "Wow. Hi."

"Keith, this is Nick, he's my husband, and.. well, Ellis would be able to tell you about their adventures together better than I can."

Keith laughed heartily. "It's nice to meet you, Nick." He extended a hand.

"Yeah, you, too." Nick found a smile creeping up on his face as he shook hands with Keith.

"Uh," he frowned as he went to sit on the other couch across from the two. "Fill me in?"

"Well," Ashley began. "Ever since.. Ever since we got here, well, okay, pretty much ever since the first time Ellis said 'Did I ever tell you about the time me and my buddy Keith'," Keith laughed. "I swore to myself I would find him. So when we got back, I spent all the time I could looking online, through phonebooks, and all that jazz, and I finally found him." She held her hands out, gesturing to the man sitting on the other end of the couch.

Keith nodded. "So, I get this call from a girl and she tells me all about how she's been lookin' for me, and she knows Ellis, and that was enough for me to get over here. And then she told me all about how y'all done teamed up and stuff and.. honestly, that's a really amazing story, and it really means a lot to me, Ashley, that you would call me up, and thank y'all for lettin' me come here." He smiled warmly at both Ashley and Nick.

Keith didn't have the thick southern drawl like Ellis did, and it wasn't even as thick as Ashley's, it was just faint, kind of slight, but Nick could tell because he wasn't from the dry, honky tonk state at all.

"I'll be right back." Ashley giggled as she jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs.

There was silence for a moment as Nick watched her go and Keith stared down at his hands.

"Ellis has told us all about you."

Keith looked up with wide eyes. "Really?"

Nick laughed a bit. "Yeah.. Every fifteen seconds it was always, 'Did I ever tall y'all 'bout the time me an' my buddy Keith'," he mocked Ellis' accent as best he could.

Keith laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Ellis."

Nick smiled and then looked down at his feet.

"Hey, uh, Nick.."

"Yeah?"

"I just got one question for you."

"Okay." Nick shrugged.

"Does he think I'm dead?"

Nick thought for a moment, a bit shocked by Keith's question. Then he spoke, finally.

"Actually, no, no he doesn't. He told us that you were one of the first ones on the helicopter, and that you made it out. He always talked about how if you had been there at a certain moment, or when he saw you again, and all this stuff."

Keith smiled.

"He's a really hopeful kid." Nick added.

Keith smiled wider and nodded. "Yeah, yeah he is."

Then, they heard the front door open and chatter filled the foyer.

"I mean, I wasn't tryin' to do nothin' wrong, but I just accidentally- oh hey! That makes me think of this one time Keith and I was out lookin' for Keith's dog one night.."

Keith just beamed at the sound of Ellis' voice.

"And his dog was named like, some girl's name, I wanna say it was Lucy but-"

"It was Luanne, you idiot!" Keith laughed as Ellis made his way into the living room.

The young man absolutely froze as Keith stood up and shuffled a few steps towards him.

His jaw hung loose as it quivered up and down, but he just couldn't speak. Then he cursed under his breath.

"Keith." He didn't yell it, but he didn't say it flatly either.

"KEITH!" He threw himself at the older man and the two embraced tighter than anyone had ever hugged before.

Tears streamed from Ellis' tightly shut eyes, and Zoey and Ashley got a bit watery-eyed, too, as they watched the two men reunite in the middle of Nick and Ashley's living room.

Finally after what seemed like eternity, but still not long enough, they separeted.

"Keith!" Ellis exclaimed again.

Keith just smiled back and laughed.

"Where-.. How did-... Oh my gosh, Keith!"

He laughed, again.

"How did you get here? How did you know?"

"I didn't." Keith shook his head, and then nodded towards Ashley.

Ellis' arms dropped to his side as he turned to Ashley.

She shrugged innocently with a smile and then found herself in the tightest, but most meaningful embrace ever, in Ellis' arms.

"Thank you." He said softly, his voice cracking just a bit.

Ashley's eyes began to burn again, and she playfully pushed Ellis away.

"Stop it, you're making me emotional!"

They all laughed.

"I do declare we're _all_ having dinner at my house tonight." Ellis nodded with a smile.

"What? You know you can't cook!" Keith nudged him.

"Well.. Sure I can, hey, what're you thinkin' you know 'bout cookin'? Your mama was the one that made all that food!"

The two suddenly burst into a loud, but playful, argument, and it was funny to see Ellis compared to the height of Keith who was almost taller than Nick.

Ashley laughed as Zoey went to calm them down, and then she felt an arm slide around her waist.

"You really are something amazing." Nick said softly.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah?"

He chuckled. "Yeah."

And between the arguing and the laughing and all the other commotion between Ellis and Keith, no one noticed when Nick pulled Ashley in close to him, and held their lips together, in a soft, but passionate kiss. All was how it should be, once more, and everyone was happy.

Even Nick.


	32. Chapter 32: Sick Dreams

Nick had, for the first time in a while, slept the entire night through, no interruptions, nothing disturbed him at all.

He was slowly coming to as he stretched, his fingers sliding across the bed next to him, but they found nothing but empty sheets. He opened his eyes, and sure enough, Ashley wasn't there. This was normal, as sometimes she would wake up before him, but what happened next was not normal at all.

He flinched as he heard the sound of gagging, as if someone was choking,

It took him a few seconds longer to process this as he had just woken up, but as soon as he realized what was happening, and where the sound was coming from he flung the covers away and ran to the bathroom, where he found Ashley, head in her hands, slumped to her knees on the floor.

"Ashley," he breathed as he knelt next to her. "Are you okay?"

She was silent for a moment and then she smoothed her hands across her face and looked up at him.

"Yeah," her voice cracked. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He helped her up and then went to flush her most recent meal down the toilet.

"Are you sick? I mean, obviously you're not feeling well, but.." He tried to fix how stupid his question sounded.

"I-.." She thought, shaking her head a bit. "I don't really know. I mean, I woke up, and then I went to go back to sleep, but I got this horrible feeling in my stomach, and.." she trailed off.

Nick frowned.

"I'm.. so sorry you had to see me like that." she made a slightly disgusted face as she looked at the floor.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not like it's something you can control. And it doesn't make me love you any less."

"Thanks.." she mumbled as she threw back a shot of mouthwash, trying to rid her mouth of the horridness.

She spit and then ran a hand through her hair.

"I love you." Nick whispered as he pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too." her voice was still cracking.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he frowned again.

"Well.. I mean.. What could it possibly be? I haven't felt sick lately."

"I dunno.." Nick shrugged and ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Think you should see a doctor?"

Ashley just watched him for a moment, and then a tired half-smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"That wasn't a suggestion was it."

Nick grinned. "Nope."

Ashley sighed. "Ah.. I dunno, I think I'll be okay."

Nick flashed her his pouting eyes, and Ashley rolled hers, but couldn't help but smile.

"Fine. I will go to the doctor, but only if it happens again, okay?"

"Okay." he smiled, placing his hands on her waist. "But you shouldn't go to work today. Okay?"

Ashley thought for a moment. "Okay."

"The restaurant will be fine without me, hopefully today won't be so busy." she thought.

"But," she pointed a finger in his face. "You still have to go."

Nick played a puzzled look. "What makes you say that like I wouldn't?"

"Don't you dare, Nick, you know you were about to find an excuse to stay home with me."

He laughed. "Only cause I love you." He kissed her gently on the very edges of her lips, and she tried not to frown when he pulled away, as she was longing for a kiss.

"I'm going to go get ready to leave, go get some more sleep, alright?" He nodded to her.

She shrugged as she left the bathroom.

He just laughed, again, and went to find a suit to put on for work.

Nick had worked at Men's Wearhouse ever since he had began to start a new life there in Texas, and Ashley had gone back to working at an Italian restaurant in a shopping center in the middle of the town.

Nick called in for her and said that she was sick and was not coming in that day as she was most likely going to see the doctor (Ashley replied to this with a "Ha!"), and the coworkers on the other end of the phone understandingly agreed.

Nick left for work, Ashley tried to go back to bed.

And she did, successfully, for a while. Then she began to have a dream.

_It was night, the air was humid, and there was a terrible stench in the air._

_Rotting flesh._

_Cutting through the silence was the sound of five pairs of feet jogging over the body infested ground._

_Soon, a few members of the group had begun to fall back and there were only two.._

_One guy, one girl._

_"Nick, please, why do you always act like this?"_

_"I'm tired of you trying to play shrink with me, Ashley." He had whirled around to face her. "I don't know what your problem is, but you've already screwed up this.. this 'team' we were trying to make as functional as possible, and now you're trying to screw with my head. Well, stop." He sighed, frustrated, and then turned to walk away. "Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we had just left you there." he mumbled as he left her._

_She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't let a tear stream down her face and show that she was hurting. She wouldn't._

_Then there was a gunshot._

_The man in front of her stopped walking and she slowed down behind him, afraid that he was going to turn and yell at her, as if she had fired, but she hadn't._

_And then, the world swirled into slow motion._

_His knees buckled._

_His arms slumped._

_He dropped to the ground._

_Dead._

"Nick!" Ashley screamed herself awake. Shaking, sweating, and beginning to cry, she buried her face into the pillow and began to sob. She was alone, and she felt like she could take this moment to let it all out.

But then the feeling in her stomach came back, and she flew to the bathroom once more before buckling over and wrenching whatever contents her stomach could still have into the toilet bowl.

Once she finished, she slowly stumbled to the bed where she sat on the edge, not sure what to think or feel.

She didn't even flinch when she heard a car door shut. The front door opened.

"Ashley?" Nick called.

She was frozen, but then her eyes focused on the clock for a moment; one twenty-one.

Nick had come home on his lunch break to see her.

She was still frozen.

"Ashley.. Ashley, are you okay?"

She snapped out of her daze and noticed Nick was sitting on the bed beside her.

"Yeah," she tried to speak, but her voice only let out a whisper.

She cleared her throat, and tried again. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Were you crying?"

She then realized she had no choice, and told Nick all that had happened, with the dream, and the vomiting.

He couldn't seem to find the words.

"Nick, I.. Please don't think that's how I see you.." She placed a hand on his shoulder.

He was silent for a moment more.

"No," he shook his head. "No, I.. I know, I just.. I can't get over how I treated you, Ashley."

"Shh, don't-.. Just don't. It's okay."

He looked down, and then nodded, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Please go to the doctor, Ashley, I don't want you to keep feeling like this."

She sighed, but nodded, and when Nick left to go back to work, she left to go to the doctor, never expecting the results she would soon get.


	33. Chapter 33: Congratulations!

It had been three days since Ashley had gone to the doctor. The sickness had receded a bit, but she was still occasionally throwing up in the mornings, and she was tired the rest of the day. When she had gone, the doctor said he would run a few tests and get back to her in a few days, and she had just gotten the call with the results no more than an hour ago. She sat on the edge of the bed, still not sure how to take what she had just been told.

It was eight forty-two and Nick would be home any second now, and Ashley knew this was something she wouldn't be able to hold back from him.

She simply hoped he would take it well..

The front door opened and she heard him call, "Hey, baby, I'm home!"

Apparently he had gotten the raise after all, as he was in a good mood.

Ashley slowly stood up and began to make her way down the stairs as Nick was getting a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Hey, you." He smiled and slid his arms around her, pulling her into a kiss.

He frowned once they had separated. "Are you okay?"

"Um.."She was still tranced to the floor. "Yeah, yeah."

She blinked and shook her head, looking up. Nick simply stared at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He wasn't buying it.

"Really, Nick. But, uh.. hey, there's something I wanna talk to you about."

"Alright.. is it good news? Or bad news?"

"Uh.. Ah.." she didn't know how to answer as she wouldn't know how he would take the news.

She lead him to the living room and he sat down on the couch.

"So um.. the doctor called today."

Nick watched Ashley's eyes, concerned.

"Nick," she looked down at his hand clasping hers.

Nick leaned in, worried when Ashley didn't continue immediately.

"I'm pregnant." She met his eyes with hers.

Nick's eyes widened a bit, but he couldn't find the words to speak.

His mind took him back to their honeymoon, when Ashley had told him she couldn't have kids, anyway.

They had made love multiple times since without a thought of what the result might be, as Ashley had also said it was a dream she had given up on years ago. They had recently discussed adoption, but the idea had only been proposed, as they hadn't looked into too much since.

Nick came back to reality only to see a tear beginning to make it's way down Ashley's cheek.

"What's-.. Why are you crying? Are you okay?"

"I just.. I don't want you to be mad.." she spoke softly.

"Mad.." he repeated, and then he realized.

"No, no, no, Ashley! I'm not mad, I just-... Ashley, we're going to have a baby."

Suddenly his expression of awe turned into a beaming grin.

"We're going to have a baby!" He said, again, this time, all but exclaiming it.

Ashley laughed, and Nick pulled her close.

Now, it was Ashley who frowned when he pulled away and she saw that his smile had begun to fade.

"Baby..?"

"Sorry, I just.. was thinking."

She raised her eyebrows a bit, in genuine concern.

"I just.. I'm thankful for this chance to be a better father to this baby than my dad was to me."

Ashley gently brushed his cheek. "I know you're going to be a great dad, Nick." She gently pressed her lips to his and he smiled.

"I love you."

They decided they didn't want to wait too much longer before they told anyone so a dinner was planned for the group the next evening.

"Hey, baby, are you almost ready? We need to leave soon."

"Yeah," Ellis called to Zoey from the bedroom where he was getting dressed.

He frowned as he fidgeted with his tie.

"Hey, Zo, do I really have to wear this tie?" He asked as he walked out to the living room. "'Cause I really-.."

He was cut off at the sight of Zoey in a little yellow cocktail-length halter dress.

"Holy shoot.." he breathed.

Zoey turned around with raised eyebrows as she was hooking an earring into her ear.

"What, this? This is nothing, I just.. I don't even know why I'm wearing it, I might go change.."

"No, no, don't do that," Ellis waved his hands as he walked towards her, sliding his arms around her waist. "You look mighty fine in that dress.." he whispered into her ear making her giggle.

"Are we gonna tell them tonight?" She asked as she fumbled with the diamond ring on her left hand.

Ellis smiled. "Yeah, I think we should."

They all met one another at the restaurant, each girl wearing a color they had never really sported before, which was the agreement they made when Ashley proposed the dinner.

Zoey in yellow, Rochelle in pink, Hayden in green, and Ashley in blue.

They sat down and ate, chatting as usual until Ellis leaned over to tell Nick he had something big to tell everyone.

"Really?" Nick laughed. "So do we."

"Oh, well, you can go first, if ya want to, Nick." Ellis shrugged.

"No, no," Nick waved a hand as if to brush the idea away.

"Okay." Ellis grinned.

"Hey, so, everyone," He made sure he got all their attention. "Zoey, and I.. we uh, we got somethin' to tell y'all."

They all waited, and Ellis paused for a moment and then looked to Zoey, who blushed.

"We're engaged!" She giggled as she held up her left hand.

The girls all gasped and the guys congratulated Ellis, making one joke or another about being married.

"Hey, Nick, what were you gonna say?" Ellis asked after a while.

This also caught the attention of the others who now watched Nick carefully.

"Uh.." he didn't know how to handle being put on the spot, so he turned to Ashley. "Baby, I think it's best that you tell them this.."

"Oh, um.." Ashley was struck silent for a moment as well. "Okay." she shuffled in her chair a bit and Nick reached over to grab her hand.

"Uhh, well.. I'm not really sure if there's a way to put this other than just flat out saying it,but uh.. Nick and I.. we're having a baby."

Everyone was silent and Ashley squeezed Nick's hand in worry of what might be going on in the minds of the others.

Zoey had her hands over her mouth, Ellis' eyes were as wide as the moon, Hayden and Rochelle were both busy picking up their jaws from off the table, Francis let out a "Hell yeah!" after a moment, and Coach just smiled the same way he always had.

"Oh my gosh!" Zoey whispered, sounding like she was about to cry.

Instantly she was up from her seat across the table and had her arms around Ashley.

The two other girls soon giggled and joined in.

It was the best way possible to end the dinner; the girls walking out in a group attempting to move and hug Ashley at the same time, and all of the guys walking out with Nick who wouldn't ever admit how much he wanted to smile at that moment.

"I can't believe this.. I'm so happy for you Ashley."Zoey beamed with tears fighting their way into her eyes.

"Are you kidding? You're getting married, Zoey!"

Zoey tried to hold it in but she just couldn't.  
"I KNOW!"

"Y'all's just a big bowl full o' fun tonight." Coach laughed in his usual, heartily way, causing everyone to join in.

Everyone talked for a moment longer or so, congratulating Ellis and Zoey on their engagement, and / or Nick and Ashley on their soon-to-be newborn.

Francis reached over and slid his hands between Hayden's as they walked to her car, opening the passenger door for her.

"Hey," she stopped him as she began to climb in.

"What if.." she thought, and Francis leaned in, intrigued.

"What if that's us someday?"

Francis felt his face flush for the first time, and he hoped it didn't show.

Hayden just laughed and climbed in the car.

But as Francis found himself making his way around to the other side, it hit him.

"What if that _is_ us someday?" he thought.


End file.
